Cargo ships are seen as they sail across the English Channel with the French coast on the horizon, from Dover in Britain on Jan. 9, 2016.TOBY MELVILLE/Reuters
Britain is facing growing concerns that the migrant crisis that has gripped the Mediterranean could spread to the English Channel.
In the past few days, two small boats carrying 35 Albanians have landed on British beaches, including one inflatable boat that had to be rescued last Saturday after it started to sink off the coast of Dover. Another inflatable boat, which officials believe was used by migrants, was found near Dover on Sunday. All of the migrants have been taken to immigration centres and police detained three British men on charges of people smuggling.
The migrants are believed to be from Calais, France, where thousands of people from conflict countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Libya have been living in makeshift camps for months as they try to get to Britain. There are fears that a recent crackdown to stop them from trying to board trains has led some to attempt the dangerous journey by boat. The channel is just 32 kilometres across but it is a busy shipping lane and the weather can make crossing treacherous for small boats.
"In the last two weeks we've suddenly had loads and loads of refugees because the weather has improved and they are coming across in boats," said Martyn Underhill, the police and crime commissioner for the Dorset region, which runs along the south coast. "It's a matter of time before we have a refugee drowning in our English Channel."
Mr. Underhill and others blame cuts to border security measures in recent years by the government. He pointed out that Britain's Border Force has just three patrol ships to cover 7,000 miles of coastline. The government has also focused largely on security issues at airports and the channel tunnel railway. "There is no security in small English ports and that is our weakest link and that is why we are exposed," he said.
A report by the National Crime Agency released last month said migrants were paying up to £10,000 each, or $19,000, to cross the Channel and they were seeking new routes to quieter ports that have lower security. The NCA also said much of the trafficking involved organized crime.
The Home Office, which includes border protection, played down concerns about ports earlier this year after a report by the Independent Chief Inspector raised concerns about drug trafficking and people smuggling through the country's airports and sea ports. "The risk of people smuggling into the U.K. via [sea] is not currently assessed as being significant, however we remain vigilant to changes in methods and the measures outlined will strengthen our response should the risk picture change," the Home Office said at the time.
This week, the government's tune changed and the Home Office said it was pursuing a number of new measures to address maritime people smuggling. That includes giving Border Force officers powers to board, divert and detain vessels as well as to arrest anyone suspected of people smuggling. The government has also said it will deploy six new patrol boats and set up three maritime co-ordination hubs across the country to track "a range of threats on the U.K. coastline."
The arrival of the Albanians has also become an issue in the campaign for the June 23 referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union. The Vote Leave campaign has seized on the migrants as proof Britain can't properly control its borders as part of the EU.
"We have all seen the horrors of the Mediterranean, with thousands crossing and hundreds dying. We cannot allow that to happen off the shores of Kent and Sussex," Nigel Farage, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party and a leading campaigner for Brexit, said. "We must not make the same mistake as the EU has done over the Mediterranean situation."
The Remain side has argued sufficient resources are being put in place to combat people smuggling. And they say co-operation with the French over migrants would be harder outside the EU.
Paul Waldie