Sir,
Untold numbers of people pay to be smuggled into Britain by organised criminal gangs from all over the world. The notorious Red Cross camp at Sangatte in Calais was just such a stopping-off point for illegal immigrants. Monsieur Patrick Espagnol, a former Calais regional governor estimated that at its peak over 200 illegal migrant’s per-day, or 73,000 per annum, were travelling from Calais to Dover alone.
Illegal immigrants can enter Britain by hiding in cars or in the backs of Lorries, but passport holders can easily gain entry to Britain just by arriving for a holiday or trip and never leaving. Immigration offices have customarily made only the most cursory of checks on tourists from visa countries often not requiring for instance to see a prepaid return ticket in the traveler’s name as is required by other English speaking countries.
Just in 2008 12.7 million non-EU Nationals, mostly bona fide tourists and businessmen, arrived in the UK, How many left? No one knows because we keep no embarkation records. Checks are rarely made on over-stayers and no action is taken to locate and remove them. The number of people living illegally in Britain is estimated to be between one and half million but may well exceed even this high figure. The problem is no one knows for sure!!!
James Cole
Name and address supplied.
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