More port security needed to prevent cost to hauliers, say MPs

The House of Commons home affairs select committee has criticised French and British authorities over their handling of the issues caused, including for haulage operators, by illegal migrants trying to cross from Calais to the UK via the English Channel.

While welcoming additional investment by the government to tackle the problem and urging increased security at French ports and approach routes, the committee’s report also highlighted the importance of said security not causing a halt to traffic flow, so that stationary vehicles would not become targets. The MPs additionally called on all the European Union member states party to the Schengen Agreement to ensure the security of the EU’s external borders.

Meanwhile, the MPs were critical of border agencies’ apparent tendency to release those caught attempting to enter the UK without disincentivising them from making repeat attempts.

“Countering illegal migration creates a huge amount of work and absorbs a vast amount of resources. The number of interceptions by Border Force and PAF, the French Border Police, highlights the sheer scale of the problem. And yet we have seen no evidence that France or the UK is pursuing a policy of processing and deporting the individuals found at Calais,” concluded the MPs.

“We find it bizarre that there are thousands of attempts to enter the UK illegally through Calais, at great cost and inconvenience to business and leisure travellers, transport companies, and hauliers, and yet the people who are caught are simply released back into the French countryside.

“Nothing in this process appears to serve as a disincentive to returning to Calais and trying again and again, and there is no evidence it has affected the number of migrants living in the Calais area. It appears to be an admission of stalemate and something must be done to break this cycle.”

The report found that “the favoured tactic” of those attempting to enter the UK illegally “is to hide inside one of the many lorries passing through the area before they board a ferry or the Shuttle service through Eurotunnel… As security has increased, the migrants [look] for parts of the road network where the lorry traffic slows down.”

The report referred to evidence from Peter Cullum of the Road Haulage Association, who said that some hauliers were advising their drivers “not to stop within 200 kilometres of Calais.”

It also quoted the evidence of John Keefe, director general of Eurotunnel, who had raised concerns about the potential consequences of enforcing 100 per cent exit checks for lorry drivers and freight traffic leaving the UK through the tunnel.

“Forecasts show an increase of 30 per cent in traffic over the coming five years,” said Keefe. “Manual exit checks will not be able to cope with the increased levels of traffic and congestion is likely.”