Conservatives plan new border police force
Britain’s borders would be patrolled by a new police force tasked with securing the nation against illegal immigrants and cutting immigration-related crime under a plan announced today by the Conservatives.
Party leader Michael Howard said the new force was needed to deal with terrorists and others trying to abuse the immigration system. It is part of a range of measures unveiled by the Conservatives to tackle illegal immigration.
The announcement follows claims this weekend that immigration officials at airports are allowing people with fake or suspect entry documents to enter Britain for 48 hours before returning for further questioning or deportation.
Speaking at a press conference today, Mr Howard accused the Government of operating a “DIY deportation policy” and failing to secure the nation’s borders.
“We face a real terrorist threat in Britain today … But we have absolutely no idea who is coming into or leaving our country.”
Setting out the plan to establish a British Border Control Police, Mr Howard said: “We will have one face at the border. One police force, with one police constable, with just one job: securing Britain’s borders.”
A border police force would also help fight crime by targeting drug-runners and those trying to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country, he said.
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said the Conservatives would ‘clamp down’ on all the routes illegal immigrants use to get into Britain.
They would tackle ‘entry by deception’ by getting would-be immigrants from non-EU countries seen as sources of illegal immigration to adopt biometric visas; while clandestine entry would be tackled by setting up 24-hour surveillance at all British ports.
The employers or families of immigrants would also be targeted by having to post bonds that would be paid back only when the immigrant left the country.
Mr Davis said the Government had an ‘abysmal’ record on tackling employers who employ illegal immigrants. He added that the offence of employing illegal immigrants, introduced by the Conservatives in 1996, had resulted in just nine convictions under Labour.
