Migrants toll hits 1,000 in just 10 days
MORE than 1,000 migrants have arrived in the UK over the past 10 days after crossing the Channel in small boats.
Between August 4 and 13, 1,004 people were brought ashore by Border Force.
It takes the total so far this year to at least 4,511, more than double the number thought to have crossed during 2019.
Yesterday the Home Office confirmed that on Thursday 89 migrants who made the crossing in five boats were brought to Britain, as well as 48 who arrived in four boats on Friday.
Immigration minister Chris Philp has promised a “comprehensive action plan” to stem the crossings after talks with French officials in Paris on Tuesday.
However, an expert report that could shed light on how to deal with the Channel migrant crisis has been sat on by the Home Office for more than five months.
David Bolt, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, carried out an extensive review of ways migrants illegally enter the UK.
Mr Bolt, who has previously identified failings in border controls at ports and airports across the UK, carried out a “clandestine entry” inspection which looked at ways migrants enter the country illegally via the Channel and other coastal ports. He also looked at airports.
He submitted it to the Home Office for its observations on March 13, but there has yet to be a response.
The Home Office previously pledged to respond to and then publish such reports within eight weeks of their receipt.
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, called for the urgent release of the report.
He said: “As the Channel situation worsens, there is a dearth of official data.
“This is yet another example of the Government sitting on information that the public have a right to know.
“The Chief Inspector’s observations will be crucial in helping tackle this massive problem and the Government should make the report available without further delay. The Home Office has provided no reason to the inspector for the delay.”
A spokesman for the inspectorate said: “The Chief Inspector regularly raises delays in publication with the Home Office but has not received an explanation of the reasons for the delay in the case of this report.”
The report can now not be published until September when Parliament reopens.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: “It is important that we give full consideration to ICIBI reports, some of which relate to complex and evolving issues. The Government is committed to
being open and transparent, so the report will be published as soon as possible.”
But the Government has come under fire for its “poor” response to the crisis since boats began arriving in 2018.
Then home secretary Sajid Javid pledged in January 2019 that any migrants who arrived in the UK from a safe country such as France would be returned.
He struck a deal with the French, providing them with millions of pounds to pay for patrols, and deployed the Navy for patrols into British waters.
But Home Office figures show that only about 160 of the more than 6,000 people who arrived since 2018 have been sent back.
Mr Mehmet added: “Tough words are not enough. Effective action is what is needed, including the immediate return of anyone making the attempt.”
Migration Watch said an estimated 46,900 attempts to enter the country illegally were detected in the year to October 2019, up from 40,800 during the same period in 2018.
Last night it emerged that Home Secretary Priti Patel is planning a major speed-up of the asylum process so it cannot be abused by people who try to game the system by submitting multiple claims.
The Home Office is planning to introduce legislation which would require people to submit all their arguments for why they deserve asylum in one go.
At present it is possible to present one argument and add others later in the process.
‘People have a right to know’