Flow of migrants

British authorities are failing to cope with the rising tide of migrants crossing the Channel, failing to provide them with decent accommodation and failing to identify potentially dangerous people. This is according to a report released on Thursday by David Neal, the chief independent inspector of border and immigration services.

According to statistics from the Home Office, the number of migrants arriving in the country by small boats increased 120-fold between 2018 and 2021, from 236 people to 28,500.

The UK Border Agency's actions, according to the inspector, are not effective enough to control all those trying to enter the UK. From September 2021 to January 2022 alone 227 people escaped from migration centres, where conditions of stay did not meet recognized standards, 57 of them in just five weeks. Most of those who escaped did not even have their biometric data collected or their photos taken.

"Migrants are crossing the Channel in appalling conditions and many of them, including children and women, are vulnerable and face unacceptable treatment," Neil notes. In addition, over the past three years, the Home Office has still failed to put in place satisfactory security and data verification systems."

What's more, he says, "there needs to be a strategic approach to solving such problems. This would help secure Britain's borders and reduce the risk to desperate people.