08/08/2013

Border Staff Failing To Document Illegal Immigrants

Thousands of illegal immigrants trying to enter Britain from France are not being fingerprinted by UK border staff, inspectors have found.

The Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration found that UK border staff working in France had stopped photographing and fingerprinting immigrants caught trying to enter the UK illegally.

It is understood that in 2010, border staff in Calais stopped documenting illegal immigrants due to a lack of holding cells at the border facility. Coquelles then also stopped collecting the data.

Inspectors say it is vital to collect this information in case the same people later claimed asylum in the UK.

They also found that people-smugglers were not being fined heavily enough, with none of the fines "remotely close" to the £2,000 maximum fine.

(MH/JP)

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