The Home Office turf war between Priti Patel and the civil service has escalated, after claims that Mi5 do not trust the home secretary.

It has been claimed that officials from the security service have limited the number of briefings they give Patel and that they “roll their eyes” when she contributes at meetings.

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A Home Office source told the Sunday Times: “They have to decide how much to share, and they share less.

“She is also informed about things later in the decision-making process than before.

“Some things the security services do have legal implications, but she tends not to want to hear that.”

Another source said “she “doesn’t grasp the subtleties of intelligence” and that Mi5 official “don’t have confidence in her abilities”.

There has been a growing feud in the Home Office between Patel and department permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam.

Allegations emerged this week, in The Times, that Patel had been accused of bullying civil servants and was engaged in a power struggle with Rutnam.

The Home Office said no formal complaints had been made against Patel, while her allies deny accusations of bullying.

She also allegedly tried to remove the top-ranking mandarin from his post, after heated disagreements on how to run the department and a row about Putman spying on senior ministers in the department.

Rutnam is also facing allegations that he was absent during the fallout of the 2018 Windrush scandal and that he pushed blame onto home secretary Amber Rudd, who was forced to resign.

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Rudd has submitted a formal complaint about Rutnam to the inquiry into the scandal, according to the Sunday Times.

The Home Office was contacted for comment.