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Number of migrants trying to enter UK illegally rises (23 December 2015)

Date: 23/12/2015
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Number of migrants trying to enter UK illegally rises

Home Office figures have revealed that UK Border Force officials thwarted a total of 30,629 attempts by migrants to cross illegally from Calais to the UK between April and July this year – almost as many attempts as in the whole of the previous year to March 2015, which stands at 39,546.

In the previous year – 2013-2014 – there were half the number of attempts, with the figure standing at 18,000.

In the last year, however, as many as one million migrants and refugees have entered the EU – and despite attempts by EU countries to stem the flow of migrants who are making the dangerous crossing from Turkey to Greece, the figure continues to rise.

Chair of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, Keith Vaz MP, said that the rising number of people detected by UK Border Force officials shows that more people are trying to reach the UK.

Lorry drivers at Calais are also coming under attack from migrants desperate to leave the “Jungle” migrant camp and reach Britain in the back of lorries crossing the Channel.

Mr Vaz has called Calais “a town in crisis” – the UK government has this year spent millions on security measures at Calais, but the number of people camped there waiting to reach the UK is now thought to be between 5,000 and 7,000.

Until this year, around 2,000 to 3,000 people were camped at Calais on average. The increase in the number of migrants reaching Europe via Greece, Italy and across Eastern European borders from Turkey is now turning Calais into a pressure point.

The Road Haulage Association has also warned that as many as 100,000 migrants could end up camping at Calais as they wait their turn to try and cross to the UK illegally in the back of a lorry or other vehicle.


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