One migrant is caught trying to sneak into Britain every SIX minutes
MIGRANTS are being caught trying to sneak into Britain at a rate of one every six minutes.
There were 84,088 detentions at our besieged borders last year – the equivalent of 230 a day, figures show.
The number of illegal immigrants captured has risen five-fold since 2013 when just 16,008 were seized.
The statistics – released under Freedom of Information rules – highlight the number of refugees attempting to slip past UK border controls in France and Belgium. They are a nightmare for ministers, made even worse as the total ignores the thousands of stowaways thought to have made it across the Channel.
With less than two weeks before the EU referendum, the numbers provide fresh ammunition for the Leave camp.
Campaigners say the only way to regain control of our borders is to cut ties with Brussels. Brexit supporter Iain Duncan Smith, the former work and pensions secretary, said: ‘These shocking figures show our ability to secure our own borders is collapsing. This is a direct consequence of the EU’s obsession with freedom of movement and insistence on an open border policy.
‘Migration is soaring and the EU has comprehensively failed to deal with the crisis. This now threatens the UK’s security.’
Thousands of migrants, some with children and babies, have been waved across borderless mainland europe and are living on the coast of France and Belgium, using it as a springboard for illegal entry to the UK.
Many are fleeing humanitarian disasters but often they are economic migrants attracted by jobs, lavish benefits and free accommodation in the UK.
Alarmingly, home Secretary Theresa May warned that the sheer number of migrants trying to come into Britain ‘ shows no sign of easing’.
She said: ‘ The situation in Northern France is a symptom of a wider international crisis, a crisis that shows no sign of easing in the short term. So it is important we redouble our joint efforts to protect our border, move migrants in the region into more suitable facilities in France, and return those not in need of protection to their home countries.’
Most of those caught were in Calais, the frontline in the fight against illegal immigration, where they have been laying siege to lorries and the docks.
Some are caught stowed away in lorries heading for the UK while others are picked up scaling fences to get into the Calais port. But the figures also include ‘clandestine entry attempts’ through Dunkirk and eurostar terminals in Brussels, Lille and Paris.
The illegal immigrants were caught at the ‘juxtaposed controls’ – effectively Britain’s border on foreign soil, which are mainly staffed by Border Force officers.
The rise in the number of illegal entry attempts detected is also caused by a significant tightening in checks of vehicles.
UK officers in Calais use sniffer dogs, carbon dioxide detectors, heartbeat monitors and scanners to find stowaways. Britain has also given £ 12million to the French to enhance security meas- ures, including a 9ft fence. But hauliers, who can be fined up to £2,000 for each illegal found on their lorry when they arrive in the UK, say the scanning system is a lottery with proper checks not carried out at busy times.
Transport firms say French police simply release any captured stowaways, allowing them to have another go at getting across the Channel.
Tory MP Stewart Jackson said: ‘It’s obvious to most people we are failing to do what is necessary to protect our borders ... it’s no wonder the home Office have tried to hide this information until after the referendum.’
Seven new prisons will be needed by 2030 to hold all our convicts from the EU unless Britain ends ‘ open door’ migration, Vote Leave claimed last night.
Its analysis found that if migration continues at the same rate, and the level of criminality among EU nationals remains the same, 3,993 more prison places would be needed – costing £400million.