Migrants in Channel ‘a major threat’ to UK border

Deploy fast-response boats urges former patrols chief

MIGRANTS crossing the Channel from France are becoming a ‘major threat’ to Britain’s borders, MPs were warned yesterday.

Tony Smith, a former director general of the UK Border Force, called for urgent action to address the spiralling numbers of illegal immigrants crossing in small vessels.

He urged ministers to consider stepping up Britain’s defences against illegal crossings, possibly by setting up a rapid-reaction border patrol modelled on those in Australia.

At least 601 illegal immigrants have reached the UK’s shores in dinghies in May – many escorted over by the

French navy. The total exceeds the previous monthly high of 523 in April, even though Home Secretary Priti Patel pledged to virtually eliminate the problem by spring.

Mr Smith told MPs on the Commons home affairs committee: ‘This was declared a critical incident by the Home Secretary last year.

‘It’s too enduring to be just a critical incident. This is becoming a major threat, I’m afraid, to the UK border.’

The committee heard that migrants are told by smugglers that if they get picked up by Border Force, they will get into the UK.

Mr Smith said the Government needed to have a ‘very serious look’ at its capabilities, which consist of five patrol boats – all commissioned between 1993 and 2001 – plus six smaller vessels.

He said: ‘We haven’t really geared ourselves up to a major maritime threat like this in terms of our infrastructure, our powers, our response capability or our international response capability with France.’

In an earlier interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Smith suggested border teams should be given new powers to board and seize vessels, fingerprint occupants and return them to France.

They should be equipped with fast-response vessels similar to those used by Australian border patrol teams, he added.

It came as the leader of Kent County Council said he had written to Miss Patel, begging for ‘immediate help’ to deal with a surge in lone asylum seeking-children.

Roger Gough called for the reinstatement of a scheme which sees lone asylum- seeking children distributed across the UK, rather than leaving the burden on his county.

‘If you do not take immediate action, I fear we will shortly reach a position where the county council no longer has the capacity to accept any more newly arrived unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from Border Force,’ Mr Gough wrote.

Kent was caring for 469 unaccompanied child asylum seekers earlier this month, compared with 257 at the end of April last year.

‘We haven’t geared ourselves up’