Tighten our borders

It is almost 20 years since 58 Chinese nationals were found dead in the back of a lorry at Dover. There were echoes of that tragedy with the disclosure that the 39 people who had frozen to death in a refrigerated container opened in Essex after arriving at Purfleet dock were also from China.

In 2000, the involvement of Chinese “Snakehead” triads was widely suspected, and organised crime gangs were almost certainly behind the latest calamity. It has not become any easier to combat this menace. The UK remains a magnet for economic migrants, who travel through Europe pretty much unchecked because of the Schengen no-borders policy.

When they get to the Channel, the major ports are now secure enough to make other routes attractive to the smugglers. The vulnerability of Zeebrugge in Belgium was highlighted by the UK Border Force three years ago, with agents expecting smaller British freighter ports like Purfleet to be targeted. Criminals will always find a way to breach immigration controls because of the money involved in smuggling. In Kent yesterday a lorry was intercepted carrying nine illegal migrants. This is probably a daily occurence.

The best defence is good intelligence and harsh sentences against those caught trafficking. But the major responsibility lies with continental Europe. The gangs operating these rackets tend not to be the priority for EU law enforcement, because the UK is the destination and co-operation will be even more problematic after Brexit.

But this tragedy does not, as some on the Left maintain, make the argument for open borders but for tighter ones.