Border Force will have prevented the entry of 80,000 migrants by the end of 2015, it has predicted.

UK Border Force assistant director Andy Coram discussed the figures at the RHA Compliance Conference on 9 September, where he compared the predicted 80,000 entry attempts to 40,000 in 2014 and just 18,000 in 2013.

"This isn't just caused by organised crime gangs," said Coram. "We're all aware of the international disruption and the war-torn countries that drive the migrant problem and cause a bottleneck for us at Calais".

Coram went on to outline the various methods of entry that migrants implement on vehicles, citing soft-sided vehicles as particularly vulnerable, alongside padlocks being forced open and seals being tampered with.

More extreme cases have involved crime gangs cutting the hinges on hard-sided vehicles and then re-welding them back together, and Coram added that tankers were of particular concern because Border Force has "limited ability to search them, and they are inherently dangerous to transport people in".

He said that in order to prevent anyone climbing on board and facing a potential £2,000 fine, hauliers should provide security devices, as well as training checklists and written instructions for their drivers, and should operate a system to monitor the completion of those checklists.

However he added that drivers were equally responsible for ensuring the security devices are used correctly: "Even if the company has done all the things we expect them to do, a huge amount of times it's the driver who isn't doing their part."

In order to drive as many companies as possible to be compliant, the UK Border Force has published a list of accredited companies which comply with their codes of practice on its website, which currently stands at 305, including some international operators.

The Home Office Committee heard last week that despite international efforts to help refugees, the migrant problems at Calais were not going to be sorted anytime soon.

Topics