May ignored warnings over Channel planes
THERESA MAY ignored warnings from a former security minister and cancelled an aerial surveillance programme designed to stop migrants crossing the Channel into Britain to save £4 million, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. The Home Secretary agreed to scrap the surveillance contract in January despite being told by Baroness Neville-Jones, a former security minister and chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, that it was a risk to Britain’s border security.
It comes amid growing criticism of border security after evidence emerged that people smugglers are increasingly using small boats to ferry migrants across the Channel to small ports and harbours on the coastline.
Two British men were arrested at the weekend after a boat carrying 18 Albanian migrants was rescued off the coast of Kent.
The Home Office announced yesterday that new vessels would be brought into service to patrol British coastal waters.
However, the plans were dismissed as a “joke” by Conservative MPs after it emerged that the boats will not be fully operational until the end of 2017. The Home Office also refused to say how many new boats will be brought into service or what type of vessels they will be. Mrs May cancelled the contract with Cobham, an aviation services company, providing round-the-clock aerial surveillance of Britain’s borders.
In a letter to the Home Secretary, seen by the Telegraph, Baroness NevilleJones said Cobham pointed out “legitimately in my view, that if the intention is for the Border Force to rely from January solely on services that can be procured on an ad hoc basis under the MMO’s Framework Agreement, this is likely to lead to reliance on less capable aircraft with much less experienced and practised crews – if indeed there is any availability at all when needed.”
In a response Philip Duffy, Chief Operating Officer of the Border Force, said that the Government has to “ensure value for money” He said: “It is also incumbent upon Border Force to continue to explore new and emerging technologies available in the market place.”
Frank Hurst, a former head of maritime operations at HM Customs and Excise, said the decision to end the contract was “short sighted”. He said the surveillance had been in use for more than 20 years and had proved “extremely helpful”.
Philip Davies, a Conservative MP, said the delay in introducing the new vessels was a “joke” and the “equivalent of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted”. Chris Grayling, the Leader of the Commons, yesterday warned that the English Channel could turn into the Mediterranean “with fleets of small boats coming over”.