Ex-immigration boss warns migrants ‘know they’ve won jackpot’ in UK as crossings hit record high

The former chief immigration officer has warned that migrants ‘know they’ve won the jackpot’ when they arrive in the UK as the number of Channel crossings hit a record 4,000 for the month yesterday.

Kevin Saunders, former chief immigration officer for the UK Border Force, said the UK was ‘very attractive’ to migrants adding, ‘people know they’re not going to be removed’ once they arrive.

His comments came as dozens more migrants were pictured arriving into the UK today, escorted by Border Force at Folkestone Harbour this morning.

Photos from the scene show a dinghy full of people thought to be migrants being approached by a Border Force vessel which already appears to be carrying other migrants onboard. 

This comes after, Boris Johnson ordered a Whitehall review into the cross-Channel migrant crisis with the PM is said to be ‘exasperated’ by his Government’s failure to reduce the number of migrants on small boats making the journey and wants ministers to ‘redouble’ efforts to ‘fix’ the crisis.

Ex immigration chief Kevin Saunders told Times Radio this morning: ‘The problem is that the UK is just too attractive, so people will continue to come while we’re very, very attractive.

‘People know that they’re not going to be removed, this is why they destroy all their documentation.

‘It’s a real worry because we don’t know who people are, because they destroy all their documents, they don’t give us their right names, where they come from, or anything along those lines.

‘The biggest draw is these people know everything in the United Kingdom is free, they are going to get education, medical treatment, money, accommodation, it’s all a big, big draw.’

Mr Saunders said people who arrive in the UK via the Channel must be processed offshore to enable officials to turn away failed asylum claims.

He told Times Radio: ‘The most effective way would be to take all the people who have arrived in the UK to an offshore processing centre and deal with it offshore.

‘That is the only way you will stop people from coming into the UK. We’ve seen trying to do it with the French on land, on the Channel, nothing works.’

When asked why it had to be offshore, he said: ‘People will still come to the UK, because they know we are not going to be able to remove them from the United Kingdom when their asylum claim fails.

‘How many was it that we removed this year, was it five? Some 30,000 arrived and we removed five – not very good really, is it?

‘They know that once they’re in the UK they’ve won the jackpot.’ 

Yesterday, the number of migrants crossing the Channel to the UK surpassed 4,000 to hit a new monthly record with weeks still to go – as Emmanuel Macron accused the government of ‘oscillating between partnership and provocation’ over the crisis. 

A total of 78 people crossed the Channel by small boat yesterday, according to official Home Office figures. Border Force officials rescued or intercepted migrants making the perilous trip in four separate crossings, while French officials stopped 254 prior to departure. 

The new arrivals brought the total number to have made it to the UK this month to 4,019, exceeding the previous record of 3,879 in September.

Former Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, has been put in charge of the review ordered by Boris Johnson, according to The Times.

It will seek to find solutions to the crisis and make sure all departments – not only the Home Office – are contributing.

The review follows a week of record migrant Channel crossings, with 1,000 reaching the British shores on Tuesday alone and around 24,000 making the journey this year. The figure is almost triple the number that arrived in 2020.

Mr Johnson’s frustration comes after a series of promises made by Home Secretary Priti Patel to tackle the crisis.

They culminated this week with the suggestion that asylum seekers could be sent abroad for processing. Countries including Albania are being considered as possible destinations. 

Last night it emerged that Ms Patel is planning a Greek-style crackdown on migrants which will see new restrictions imposed on asylum seekers, as well the construction of new purpose-built reception centres, according to The Daily Telegraph.

In Greece, migrants face regular checks on their movements which include curfews to stop them going off the radar.

Earlier this week, Mr Macron took a swipe at Home Secretary Priti Patel for her criticisms of France’s handling of the issue, saying: ‘We have the British, who oscillate between partnership and provocation… we must step up collaboration.’

The president – who did not provide specific examples of alleged UK provocations – also pledged to use Paris’s rotating presidency of the EU to ramp up work to address the origins of the crisis. 

The intervention came amid increasing pressure on Ms Patel and Boris Johnson to find a way of stemming the numbers arriving illegally on British shores.

One senior MP told MailOnline it had been one of the most significant sources of unrest when the PM appeared before the Tory backbench 1922 committee earlier this week.

‘Where most people’s concerns were being addressed was illegal immigration,’ they said. ‘We have the constant drip drip drip of small groups but cumulatively large groups of illegal immigrants arriving on our shores. We need to do something about it.’

Number of Channel migrants hits record 4,000 this month – with eleven days still to go – as Macron takes swipe at Priti Patel by accusing UK of ‘provocation’

By James Tapsfield and Rory Tingle for MailOnline 

The number of migrants crossing the Channel to the UK yesterday surpassed 4,000 to hit a new monthly record with weeks still to go – as Emmanuel Macron accused the government of ‘oscillating between partnership and provocation’ over the crisis. 

A total of 78 people crossed the Channel by small boat yesterday, according to official Home Office figures. Border Force officials rescued or intercepted migrants making the perilous trip in four separate crossings, while French officials stopped 254 prior to departure. 

The new arrivals bring the total number to have made it to the UK this month to 4,019, exceeding the previous record of 3,879 in September. This year’s total is 23,761. 

It came as Mr Macron took a swipe at Home Secretary Priti Patel for her criticisms of France’s handling of the issue, saying: ‘We have the British, who oscillate between partnership and provocation… we must step up collaboration’.

The president – who did not provide specific examples of alleged UK provocations – also pledged to use Paris’s rotating presidency of the EU to ramp up work to address the origins of the crisis. 

The intervention came amid increasing pressure on Ms Patel and Boris Johnson to find a way of stemming the numbers arriving illegally on British shores.

One senior MP told MailOnline it had been one of the most significant sources of unrest when the PM appeared before the Tory backbench 1922 committee earlier this week.

‘Where most people’s concerns were being addressed was illegal immigration,’ they said. ‘We have the constant drip drip drip of small groups but cumulatively large groups of illegal immigrants arriving on our shores. We need to do something about it.’    

Ms Patel looks to be trying to take the heat out of the row with France, unleashing an excoriating attack last night on the broader EU’s open borders policy.

The Home Secretary railed against Europe’s lack of border checks – the so-called Schengen zone – which has allowed thousands of migrants to sweep across the continent.

She also announced that she had secured agreement with Mr Macron’s government – once legal changes have been approved – to use drones and tracking technology against people smugglers.      

Yeesterday, the Home Office confirmed a migrant who got into difficulty off the Dover coast this morning had to be airlifted to safety by HM Coastguard.

Meanwhile, the French Coastguard rescued 28 migrants off the coast of Gravelines in northern France after their small boat got into difficulty.

They were escorted to Calais Port by officials, where they were met by police.

Dan O’Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, said: ‘We are facing a global migration crisis and the number of people arriving on UK shores is unacceptable.

‘We must work closely with our European and international partners to target the ruthless organised criminal gangs behind these deadly crossing and welcome the French Government’s commitment to step up action to prevent crossings, including increased surveillance, greater intelligence sharing and deployment of frontline operations

‘The New Plan for Immigration will fix the broken system, break the deadly business model of the people smugglers and prevent further loss of life.’ 

France takes the rotating presidency of the EU in six weeks’ time, with the bloc working out how to react to claims Belarus is engineering major migrant flows to destabilise the area.

In an interview with French newspaper la Voix du Nord, Mr Macron – who is facing a stern challenge from right-wing politicians at looming elections – called for a tougher response.

‘We must take several actions: prevent the establishment of lasting camps, act to dismantle the smuggling networks and strengthen work with the countries of origin to prevent these flows,’ he said. ‘I will carry reforms under the French presidency of the EU.’

Mr Macron also hit out over tensions between London and Paris.

‘We have the British, who oscillate between partnership and provocation. We need to further strengthen collaboration,’ he said. 

‘If those who want to join Britain have family there, it must be part of family reunification. If they are smuggled, we have to break this system.’

Downing Street said the UK was working ‘extremely closely’ with the French to prevent illegal migrants crossing the Channel.

A No 10 spokesman said there was a ‘global migration crisis’ which required a co-ordinated response from countries across Europe.

‘Our work to date has prevented more than 20,000 migrant attempts so far this year but we have been clear that we need to do more, both ourselves and the French, which is why we continue to work extremely closely with them,’ the spokesman said.

‘We are facing a global migration crisis choreographed by organised crime groups who put people on these boats to make these incredibly dangerous crossings.

‘This is an urgent issue for the whole of Europe requiring incredibly close working together with our neighbours – France, Belgium and the Netherlands – as well as our friends across the continent. It is a shared problem, so we need shared solutions.’

Keir Starmer accused Mr Patel of failing to deliver on promises to stem the flow of illegal migrants crossing the Channel.

The Labour leader linked the increase in numbers making the dangerous journey to Government cuts in Britain’s foreign aid budget.

‘We have not had strong enough agreements with France on this and we haven’t done the work upstream,’ he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

‘One of the reasons many Tory MPs were unhappy with the Government for cutting its foreign aid budget is because they knew that budget is used in part to deal with some of the problems that are driving the movement of people.

‘You will never solve the immediate problem if you don’t solve the upstream problem. The Home Secretary repeatedly says in strong language what she is going to do about the immediate problem and delivers absolutely nothing.

‘You have got to do the work upstream otherwise you will never solve this problem.’ 

Speaking on a trip to the US, Ms Patel said offshore processing centres remained ‘on the table’ but refused to discuss specific negotiations. There have been suggestions that migrants could be sent and held abroad while their cases are looked at.

‘We keep everything on the table… and this is why the new Nationality and Borders Bill is just so important,’ she said..

‘I’m the only Home Secretary over a 20-year period that has taken on the challenge of reforming what is fundamentally a broken system of asylum and illegal migration.’ She admitted for the first time that Britain was facing a ‘mass migration crisis’.

In a marked a change of tone after months of friction with the French government, she said the flow of small boats must be treated as a ‘Europe-wide problem’. She said France was ‘overwhelmed’ by asylum seekers heading for the UK.

And she blamed Brussels – which governs EU border policy – for failing to act. ‘Let’s not forget the real problem on illegal migration flows is [that] the EU has no border protections whatsoever,’ she said.

‘On stopping crossings, France can’t do it on their own. Other countries have to do much more in terms of border protection.’

Seven out of ten migrants who attempt to cross the Channel have entered France through Belgium according to French officials, Miss Patel said.

She added: ‘The EU’s Schengen zone is free movement and open borders. They do not have border controls and border checks. There is no united position across EU member states in terms of how to tackle this issue. It’s an EU competency issue.’

Deploying highly-charged language, the Home Secretary went on: ‘There is a mass migration crisis. I’ve said this from day one – from the minute I walked into the Home Office. For everyone who complains about this – and no-one is more angry and frustrated about this than myself, alongside the British taxpayers – there isn’t a silver bullet.

‘There’s no point saying, ‘Well, you could just push boats back’. It will not stop it. There are all sorts of issues with criminal gangs, smugglers, etc.’ Ms Patel said of the French: ‘I think it’s fair to say they are overwhelmed. That is a fact.

‘We are constantly pressing France on this and we’re asking them to be honest with us about where the gaps are because they can’t be everywhere. We have a very, very professional working relationship, but no one country can fix this on their own.’

‘Exasperated’ Boris Johnson orders review into Channel migrant crisis and urges ministers to ‘redouble efforts’ to find a fix as Home Secretary Priti Patel explores ‘Greek-style’ asylum system after a record 4,000 crossings this month

By David Barratt for the Daily Mail

The Prime Minister has ordered a Whitehall review into the cross-Channel migrant crisis, it emerged last night.

Boris Johnson is said to be ‘exasperated’ by his Government’s failure to reduce the number of migrants on small boats making the journey and wants ministers to ‘redouble’ efforts to ‘fix’ the crisis.

Former Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, has been put in charge of the review, according to The Times.

It will seek to find solutions to the crisis and make sure all departments – not only the Home Office – are contributing.

The review follows a week of record migrant Channel crossings, with 1,000 reaching the British shores on Tuesday alone and around 24,000 making the journey this year. The figure is almost triple the number that arrived in 2020.

Mr Johnson’s frustration comes after a series of promises made by Home Secretary Priti Patel to tackle the crisis.

They culminated this week with the suggestion that asylum seekers could be sent abroad for processing. Countries including Albania are being considered as possible destinations. 

Last night it emerged that Ms Patel is planning a Greek-style crackdown on migrants which will see new restrictions imposed on asylum seekers, as well the construction of new purpose-built reception centres, according to The Daily Telegraph.

In Greece, migrants face regular checks on their movements which include curfews to stop them going off the radar.

Speaking of Mr Johnson’s frustration that the migrant crisis has not yet been solved, a senior government source said the PM saw it as one of his biggest priorities and he was concerned that ‘after two years there are still no viable solutions’.

‘Boris is exasperated. He’s told ministers to redouble efforts to fix this, no matter how difficult it is,’ they said.

‘If it looks bad now, it’s going to look much worse in spring when it’s warmer.’

In new plans being drawn up by the Home Office, migrants will have asylum claims thrown out if they abscond or misbehave.

The changes – which will require legislation – will be crucial in the operation of the new processing centres, which will house asylum seekers while their cases are scrutinised.

Migrants could also be issued with ‘asylum apps’ to track the progress of their applications on smartphones or computers in the centres.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has been impressed by the way Greece has digitised its asylum application process to track cases, sped up decisions and cut down on unnecessary paperwork.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Miss Patel said Greece had decided ‘not to sit behind the EU block of competency’.

Ministers are also keen to avoid a repeat of riots at asylum centres.

‘If they breach the rules, it will affect their asylum claim,’ a source said.

‘They would be told they have to be back in by a certain time, and so on. Terms would include preventing absconding.’

Some previously reported plans to tackle crossings have included the use of giant wave machines, nets to snare boat propellers and floating walls in the sea.

However, Dan O’Mahoney, the Home Office’s Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, told the Home Affairs Select Committee earlier this week that they were never considered’.

He added that the wave machine idea is ‘bizarre’.

But the move to bring in Mr Barclay could be seen as an admission that the Home Secretary has not managed to tackle the issue.

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer accused Ms Patel of failing to deliver on promises to stem the flow of illegal migrants crossing the Channel.

The Labour leader said Ms Patel has not secured strong enough agreements with the French government to prevent migrants making the dangerous sea journey.

He said the Home Secretary repeatedly used ‘strong language’ to say how she would tackle the problem, but delivered ‘absolutely nothing’.

His attack came as Ms Patel blamed the EU’s open borders – established by the Schengen Agreement – for failing to check the movement of people through the bloc.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Washington, she said she was ‘constantly pressing’ the French on the issue, but that they were ‘overwhelmed’.

‘Let’s not forget that the real problem on illegal migration flows is the EU has no border protections whatsoever – Schengen open borders,’ she was quoted as saying.

It is thought at least 10 migrants have died in the last few weeks while trying to make the dangerous crossing.

It comes as campaigners threatened the Home Secretary with legal action over so-called pushbacks after reports she had sanctioned the tactics to turn migrants around back towards France at sea.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron is reported to have said the British ‘oscillate between partnership and provocation’ when discussing the migrant crisis in an interview with Lille-based newspaper la Voix du Nord, adding: ‘We need to further strengthen collaboration.’

Officials have described how violence levelled at French police has intensified recently, highlighting incidents where an officer had their ear bitten off, and another where canisters of CS gas had to be used to disperse a group of migrants.

Downing Street said the Government was continuing to work ‘extremely closely’ with the French authorities on the issue, but that the problem required a co-ordinated response from countries across Europe.

‘We are facing a global migration crisis choreographed by organised crime groups who put people on these boats to make these incredibly dangerous crossings,’ a No 10 spokesman said.

‘This is an urgent issue for the whole of Europe, requiring incredibly close working together with our neighbours – France, Belgium and the Netherlands – as well as our friends across the continent. It is a shared problem so we need shared solutions.’

Sir Keir said the Government also had only itself to blame for the failings in Britain’s ‘busted’ asylum system.

Ms Patel complained earlier this week that a ‘dysfunctional’ system had allowed Liverpool bomber Emad Al Swealmeen to remain in the UK despite reportedly having had an asylum application rejected in 2015.

Sir Keir said: ‘My jaw dropped when I heard the Home Secretary say that the problem is that the asylum system is busted.

‘This Government has been in power for 11 years. If the asylum system is busted it is busted under their watch.

‘Asylum applications used to be dealt with in about six months many years ago. It now takes years. All of us MPs have constituents who have been waiting two years or more for their case even to be looked at.

‘So if the asylum system is busted the question is who busted it and the answer is the Government.’

Meanwhile, the Albanian ambassador to Britain flatly denied reports his country has been in discussions with the Government about hosting a processing centre for migrants who arrive in the UK.

Qirjako Qirko told LBC radio that there had been ‘zero talks’ between the two countries on the issue.

‘It’s absolutely fake news because as my prime minister stated yesterday – the foreign minister also tweeted yesterday – that doesn’t exist, any negotiations between Albania and the UK regarding these processing centres,’ he said.

‘It will not be changed because my prime minister was crystal clear yesterday when he said that Albania… will never be a processing centre for illegal immigrants.’

Speaking on a trip this week, Ms Patel said offshore processing centres remained ‘on the table’ but refused to discuss specific negotiations. 

There have been suggestions that migrants could be sent and held abroad – such as in Albania – while their cases are looked at. 

‘We keep everything on the table… and this is why the new Nationality and Borders Bill is just so important,’ she said.

‘I’m the only Home Secretary over a 20-year period that has taken on the challenge of reforming what is fundamentally a broken system of asylum and illegal migration.’ She admitted for the first time that Britain was facing a ‘mass migration crisis’.

And, after months of friction with the French government, Ms Patel appeared to change her tone when she said the flow of small boats needs to be treated as a ‘Europe-wide problem’. 

She said France was ‘overwhelmed’ by asylum seekers heading for the UK.

And she blamed Brussels – which governs EU border policy – for failing to act. ‘Let’s not forget the real problem on illegal migration flows is [that] the EU has no border protections whatsoever,’ she said.

‘On stopping crossings, France can’t do it on their own. Other countries have to do much more in terms of border protection.’

Seven out of ten migrants who attempt to cross the Channel have entered France through Belgium according to French officials, Miss Patel said.

She added: ‘The EU’s Schengen zone is free movement and open borders. They do not have border controls and border checks. 

‘There is no united position across EU member states in terms of how to tackle this issue. It’s an EU competency issue.’

Deploying highly-charged language, the Home Secretary went on: ‘There is a mass migration crisis. I’ve said this from day one – from the minute I walked into the Home Office. For everyone who complains about this – and no-one is more angry and frustrated about this than myself, alongside the British taxpayers – there isn’t a silver bullet.

‘There’s no point saying, ‘Well, you could just push boats back’. It will not stop it. There are all sorts of issues with criminal gangs, smugglers, etc.’ Ms Patel said of the French: ‘I think it’s fair to say they are overwhelmed. That is a fact.

‘We are constantly pressing France on this and we’re asking them to be honest with us about where the gaps are because they can’t be everywhere. We have a very, very professional working relationship, but no one country can fix this on their own.’