The crisis at Calais has once again raised the issue of UK border security. Some of the 3,000-odd illegal migrants residing at the port took advantage of yesterday’s ferry workers strike by attempting to board the delayed vehicles. The immigration minister James Brokenshire told the BBC this morning the situation is ‘hugely regrettable’ and the government will be taking steps to ensure Britain’s border security is beefed up:
‘It is hugely regrettable that we’ve seen these incidents occurring as a result of industrial action in France.
‘We are putting additional resourcing into the port of Dover to enhance screenings and detections there so that we’re looking at this on both sides of the Channel.
‘We have been advised the French authorities are sending further policing to deal with law and order issues, and we will be keeping in close contact with them in the hours ahead.’
But the Calais problem is not one that will be going away anytime soon. The Home Office has already blocked 19,000 attempts by illegal immigrants to cross the Channel this year — double the number during the same period in 2014. The British government has pledged £12 million to help France tackle the problem, but the issue goes beyond the English Channel. As Keith Vaz, chair of the Home Affairs select committee, pointed out, ‘once the migrants reach Calais it is too late – this is an EU problem’.
Handily for the Prime Minister, stage two of Britain’s EU renegotiations is set to kick off later this week. Downing Street isn’t too concerned about the prospect of border security dominating the agenda, but it’s undoubtedly a distraction (on a smaller scale than Greece) from David Cameron’s main purpose, the British renegotiation.
The migrant crisis at Calais is an immediate concern for Britain and France, but the wider point of illegal migrants and border security is one many EU members need to think about. With Cameron up at PMQs at midday, expect to see a question or two about the government’s plans to counter what is happening at Calais.
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