Border checks between Belgium and UK rare despite warnings

BELGIAN customs only check one in 400 ship containers’ papers at Zeebrugge, it has emerged, as questions over border checks intensified after the deaths of 39 Chinese migrants in a refrigerated lorry from the port.

Francis Adyns, of Belgian customs, said checks on documents were only conducted in “very exceptional” cases, amounting to one in 400 containers. “On transport between Belgium and the United Kingdom, the inspection is very limited,” he said.

The disclosure comes despite warnings by David Bolt, UK’S chief inspector of borders, and the National Crime Agency (NCA) over the past three years that people smugglers have been tar- geting Zeebrugge and smaller British ports such as Purfleet where the container carrying the Chinese arrived.

In a 2016 report, Mr Bolt warned the “highest priority” organised immigration crime threat was smuggling using roll-on, roll-off lorries and containers at ports away from Dover, Dunkirk and Calais to avoid their heavier police presence. The number of Border Force officers covering Purfleet has been increased since 2016 but Lucy Moreton, of the ISU, which represents immigration officers, said the Essex port still did not have full-time cover to check or search vehicles.

“There’s a risk-based approach. Not all vessels are met but if they are met, they are not met with sufficient staff,” she said. “It’s a political decision. Ministers could increase the amount of physical searching, particularly of those containers that are fully sided. In order to do that, you need people. They could also invest more in heat scanners, X-ray machines and dogs.

“That would mean we could search a lot more than we do but you are not going to get to a position where you search everything because to do that would bring Britain to a standstill.”

The trailer with the Chinese migrants arrived in Zeebrugge at 2.49pm on Tuesday, reaching Purfleet at 1am on Wednesday. The Belgian port has dogs, heat scanners and CO2 testing equipment, but officials admitted only visual inspection and advance intelligence alerting them to do that might have saved the Chinese.

“A refrigerated container in the port zone is completely sealed,” said Joachim Coens, chief executive of Zeebrugge port.

Belgian ministers have called for a similar deal for Zeebrugge as in Calais, where the UK has put more than £150 million into security, but it has been stalled by the collapse of the Belgian government. It is understood the UK Border Force does have some officers aiding the Belgians in the port.

The Government has had repeated warnings of the rising threat of people smuggling via Belgium and into quieter south and east coast ports.

“We’ve seen on the east coast evidence from Tilbury and Purfleet, up as far as Hull and Immingham. And on the south coast from Newhaven to Portsmouth,” said Tom Dowdall, deputy director at the NCA.

The report by Mr Bolt on east coast ports in 2016 warned of the dangers of people being trapped inside containers: “Groups in unaccompanied, sealed containers are likely to have been placed there by organised people smugglers. Since they are unable to release themselves, the risks are high and there have been numerous recorded deaths.”