Border cuts ‘let in terrorists and illegal migrants’
BRITAIN’S border controls are slipping into a crisis because budget cuts are forcing bosses to rely on seasonal workers to carry out passport checks, experts fear.
Despite demands for greater control over UK borders, fears are growing that criminals, terrorists and illegal immigrants will find it easier to sneak in because the immigration service is overstretched, it has been claimed.
The Home Office was last night accused of “papering over cracks” with temporary staff manning passport control desks to meet key performance targets and keep queues down in UK airports. The Border Force’s budget has dropped to £558.1million in 2016/17 from £617million in 2012/13 and staffing levels last year hit a five-year low.
This is despite passenger numbers at UK airports rising to 251.5 million in 2014 from 220.6 million in 2012.
One Immigration Service source said: “Seasonals are not subject to the same checks as full-time staff, so if they make a mistake and let someone through they shouldn’t, nothing happens.
“In six months’ time they won’t be there and that is when the country will be at risk. It’s papering over cracks.
“We keep being told that lots of people voted for Brexit because they wanted more control over immigration.
“But the reality is those controls we already have are being reduced. The frontline staff and resources are being cut. It’s a false economy and a matter of time before something serious happens as a result.
“International criminals and terrorists target the weakest point in the country’s border security. The front line needs more resources.”
The warning comes after a report by The Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, David Bolt, said Border Force officials at Gatwick airport were under “considerable strain” with a 12 per cent fall in staff from December 2015 to June 2016.
There were on average 7,646 people employed by Border Force in 2015/16 down from 8,153 the previous year, according to data.
The Home Office insisted that the data did not include “seasonal workers”.
A spokesman said: “All seasonal staff must have relevant experience and receive specific training prior to deployment.”
WITH terrorism and immigration at the top of everyone’s agenda you would think our borders should become more secure than ever. Not so.
With the Border Force’s budget slashed by almost £60million since 2013, staffing levels are at a five-year low. At Gatwick airport the number of passport staff has fallen by 12 per cent.
Alarmingly, the dwindling band of officers is being boosted at peak periods by temporary seasonal staff – “merely bums on seats”, as one source tells the Daily Express – who are so inexperienced all they allegedly do is stamp passports and wave people through unquestioned.
This wide-open door must be slammed shut immediately. We could pay for more officers by spending less on foreign aid to countries that don’t deserve it or even want it.