Mistakes by top Home Office civil servants led to the resignation of Amber Rudd as Home Secretary according to an internal report which effectively clears her of wrongdoing, the Telegraph can disclose.

Ms Rudd quit in late April as home secretary after her most senior civil servants at the Home Office failed to tell her about targets to remove illegal migrants, the Whitehall inquiry has found.

The internal review criticised Hugh Ind, the former director general for immigration enforcement, and Patsy Wilkinson, one of her permanent secretaries, and effectively cleared Ms Rudd of wrongdoing.

The review concluded Ms Rudd "was not as supported as she should have been" by civil servants when she was quizzed by MPs, according to sources who have seen the report.

According to the executive summary, Sir Alex Allan, the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministerial interests, criticised Mr Ind for a "less than satisfactory performance”.