§ Mr. MalinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress is being made towards placing at French ports(a) British Immigration officials and (b) machinery capable of detecting illegal entrants in vehicles; and if he will make a statement. [75436]
§ Beverley HughesThe establishment of juxtaposed immigration controls, whereby French and UK immigration officers will carry out entry controls on behalf of their respective countries in the UK and France prior to the commencement of inward journeys was agreed by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, when they met on 12 July 2002.
UK Immigration Service/Police aux Frontiers Joint Operations in Calais were implemented on 20 August following the signing of an Anglo-French Protocol on 7 August. This is a first phase which will eventually lead to full juxtaposed controls and involves UKIS officers working alongside officers of the Police aux Frontiers (PAF) conducting checks for forged and counterfeit documents.
335WThe government are also determined to reduce the flow of clandestine entry to the United Kingdom from Continental Channel ports in freight vehicles and, as a first step in a project, are procuring new detection technology equipment for the use of port/ferry operators in Calais to supplement the vehicle checks already conducted there. This is the first of a number of initiatives, which will provide a significant deterrent to clandestine entry to the UK and to strengthen our controls at the Channel ports. A Heartbeat Detector has been operational in Calais since 26 September this year and will be supplemented by up to two further units. Two Passive Millimetric Wave Imagers are currently deployed in the port on a trial basis and will be replaced by permanent units in due course.
It is recognised, however, that these positive measures in Calais may result in some displacement of clandestine traffic to other Continental ports. Funding has therefore been made available for the procurement of additional equipment for deployment in those ports and considerable progress has already been made.
In taking the project forward, Immigration Service officials have visited a number of ports to assess the risk of displacement, current security measures and the extent of their equipment needs. In all cases, port and other officials have welcomed the initiative and have voiced their willingness to participate. Dunkirk and Cherbourg are amongst those ports already visited and further visits are planned to St. Malo, Caen, Dieppe, Le Havre and Roscoff.