Britain is HELPLESS to stop migrants sneaking in – and we need 3,000 more guards to secure our borders properly
Unions say our borders are not secure because of the staffing shortfall
BRITAIN is helpless to stop migrants sneaking into the UK – and needs 3,000 more Border Force guards for Brexit, it was claimed last night.
A senior union official claimed the huge gaps in staffing levels meant “Britain’s borders weren’t secure”.
Lucy Moreton, general secretary of the Borders, Immigration and Customs Union, said London City Airport was the only entry point in the UK with no Border Force vacancies.
And she warned there were nowhere near enough staff to respond to DAILY reports of lorry drops – where immigrants are spotted jumping out of a truck or van on the roadside.
She said a big investment programme was necessary if Britain was to be ready for extra demands of Brexit in 18 months’ time.
Ms Moreton told The Sun: “Britain’s borders aren’t secure.”
She said: “We don’t have enough staff to respond to all the small vessels spotted. We don’t have enough cutters to intercept small vessels at sea.
“We don’t have enough people to response when there are lorry drops. More often than not we can’t get there.”
The Home Office last month admitted Border Force numbers fell from 7,911 to 7,670 in 2016-2017.
And Ms Moreton said the pay cap meant retention was becoming a problem - claiming the ENTIRE intake of new Border Force staff at Heathrow last year had already left.
The revelations come just three weeks after a damning report claimed Border Force had not attended 27 of 62 small ports in 15 MONTHS.
David Bolt, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, warned there was no visible deterrent to anyone trying to land illegal migrants or smuggled goods.
The National Audit Office last year warned that while the number of people coming in Britain legally had gone up by 12million a year since 2012 – spending on the Border Force had fallen from £626million to £525million.
Ms Moreton warned that with Brexit just 18 months away, Ministers needed to invest as a matter of urgency in Britain’s customs controls.
She said an extra 3,000 staff would be needed – and warned that with the time taken to gain security clearance a recruitment drive had to happen now.
“Ministers are well aware that the Border Force is not ready for Brexit at this point. They are trying to decide whether to invest in new IT systems and people, or just to invest in people.”
“There are advantages to both but decisions need to be made now.”
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Tory backbencher Charlie Elphicke said the claims were “alarming”.
He said: “With Brexit it’s clear we need to invest more in our borders.
“We should bring in a US-style visa waiver system charging visitors £10 a time. That would boost the borders budget by over £200million and deliver the investment we need.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “Border Force uses a mix of expert officers, technology, data and intelligence to keep the border secure.
“Recent successes speak for themselves — such as seizing a record amount of cocaine last year and stopping tens of thousands of illegal attempts to enter the country.”
