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UK Border Agency celebrates six months of success

10 October 2008

Created in April 2008, the agency has already ensured that UK borders are among the most secure in the world.

The UK Border Agency (new window) has gone from strength to strength over the past six months, with more drugs and weapons seized, more foreign criminals removed and more illegal immigrants prevented from crossing the border than ever before.

The agency was formed in April by uniting the former Border and Immigration Agency, customs border operations and UK Visas (new window).

Home Office minister's statement

Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said, 'Our border force has been in action since day one, getting real results, keeping drugs off our streets, and illegal immigrants out of the UK.

'We're currently undergoing the biggest shake-up of Britain's borders for over 45 years, with a person removed every eight minutes.'

Impressive stats

Since April the agency has:

• stopped more than 3,700 dangerous weapons, including firearms, stun guns and knives from reaching the street
• prevented more than 10,200 people from crossing the channel illegally
• searched more than half a million freight vehicles, ensuring they cannot bring illegal immigrants in to the country
• seized £172 million worth of illegal drugs
• detected and confiscated more than 1,000 forged documents
• installed facial recognition gates at Manchester airport that use the latest in biometric technology to check EU nationals into the country
• seized in excess of 465 million cigarettes - representing a potential loss of £87 million in tax revenue

Identity cards for foreign residents

The agency has also unveiled foreign national ID cards, which will go live on 25 November.

ID cards for foreign nationals will lock people to one identity and will help: 

• secure the UK's borders
• improve immigration control and reduce identity abuses
• enable those here legally to prove it
• prevent those here illegally from benefiting from the privileges of life in the UK
• enable other government departments and public sector organisations to more easily check a person's immigration status and eligibility to entitlements

Solid control of the borders

We've also introduced the a number of changes to reduce the number of economic migrants entering the UK and staying. This ensures that only those who play by the rules and have the skills the economy needs come to Britain.

Already the Home Office has:

• started rolling out the tough new Australian-style points-based system so only those with the skills the country needs can come and no more
• announced the ending of automatic citizenship based on length of stay – newcomers must earn the right to stay and speak English
• announced the introduction of a new migration impact fund, paid for by migrants

Other innovations

Since being introduced, fingerprint visas have also led to almost three million finger prints being scanned and recorded to help prevent immigration offenders entering the UK.

Five flagship sites – Coquelles, Gatwick, Harwich, Edinburgh airport and Teesport – now lead the implementation of new frontline border controls.

A freight targeting system has transformed the way we detect those who break the rules by smuggling drugs. This system allows real-time risk assessment on freight so officers can target high-risk goods.

In the first six months of the year, the UK Border Agency removed nearly 2,500 foreign national prisoners. This is a record – 22% higher than in the same period in 2007. The agency is on-track to meet the target of removing 5,000 foreign national prisoners by the end of the year.

The electronic borders system (eBorders) continues to deliver results, and has issued more than 7,000 alerts on passengers travelling to and from the UK since it was piloted in 2005. It has led to more than 650 arrests for offences including murder, possession of firearms and drug smuggling.

The Border Agency has committed to the expansion of its detention capacity by 60%, which equates to 1,500 beds.

Notes to editors

Case Studies from the past six months

• In July, a UK Border Agency team based in Shanghai intercepted four Chinese students trying to fly to the UK with fraudulently obtained visas.  Their visas were revoked, and their case was used to highlight patterns of abuse in student visa applications in this region. A special exercise was then mounted and 140 visa applicants were turned down as a result.
• In September, two young UK women were arrested in Jamaica when UK Border Agency officers discovered £175,000 worth of cocaine in their wigs. The women were arrested as part of Operation Airbridge – a joint project between the UK and Jamaican authorities to catch drug couriers.
• Hull Border Agency officers, using a detection dog, recently found four illegal immigrants from India stowed away inside a rented Fiat motor home. One was found hiding in the motor home’s toilet. A British woman and the illegal immigrants were arrested. 
• In September, UK Border Agency officers seized 42 dried seahorses from a passenger flying into Heathrow. Live seahorses are usually donated to London Zoo to supplement breeding programmes.
• A man was cautioned by police and removed from the UK after Border Agency officers found he was in possession of Rohypnol tablets (the ‘date rape’ drug).  He is now barred from applying for a visa to the UK for the foreseeable future.

Milestones

The UK Border Agency still has a number of milestones to meet as the year progresses. These are:

• within 300 days: to expand detention capacity; on May 19 the UK Border Agency announced a 60 per cent increase in detention capacity, increasing space by up to 1,500 beds.
• within 330 days: to begin issuing compulsory ID cards for those foreign nationals who want to stay – compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals will be introduced in November. This will lock people to one identity and enable us to make sure those who are here have the right to be and guard against abuses. We are currently piloting the technology for fingerprinting and photographing in-country visa renewals.
• by Christmas:  to begin counting foreign nationals in and out of the country, and to introduce compulsory watch-list checks for high risk journeys before they land.
• within 360 days: to make and enforce 60% of asylum decisions within six months, with alternatives to detention for children.

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