European Centre for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies, Germany & Netherlands – ECCI
Terrorist migrants ‘could be free in UK after evading checks during Manston chaos’
telegraph – Suspected terrorist migrants could be free in Britain after evading security checks in 2022’s chaos at Manston processing centre, a former head of the Border Force has warned.Tony Smith, a former director general of the force, said his main “worry” was that a Channel migrant with a “terrorist intent” could have “crept through” because of the failure to carry out systematic biometric checks on anyone entering the UK illegally.
His comments come as it emerged that 19 suspected terrorists arrived in Britain via small boats across the Channel in 2022. The foreign nationals linked with groups including Islamic State reached the UK illegally from northern France.Most are said to have lodged asylum claims here and cannot be deported due, in part, to human rights laws. Some are said to be under surveillance.
However, Mr Smith said there was evidence some Channel migrants had been bailed from Manston near Ramsgate without full biometric checks and screening interviews.In November 2022 Manston had to be rapidly cleared after a bottleneck in processing led to the centre becoming dangerously overcrowded with 4,000 migrants on a site designed for 1,600.
Absconded from hotels
“Not all security checks were done and someone could have been missed,” said Mr Smith. “That’s what my worry is, that someone with a terrorist intent has crept through that system.”A report in 2022 by David Neal, the chief inspector of borders and immigration, found Channel migrants had absconded from hotels without completing their biometric checks of fingerprints and facial scans which are used to cross-reference with databases of suspected terrorists.
He said at least 227 of them disappeared from hotels from September 2021 to early 2022.From a sample of 57 absconders over a five-week period, he found 38 had not had complete biometric checks – fingerprints and facial scans. This was despite them having been in the UK for up to 29 days.
His report said the “lack of retrievable biometric records” caused concerns, with union representatives telling inspectors that members were worried they could not meet the country’s national security requirements.Mr Smith said part of the problem had been the 24-hour limit on the time that migrants could spend in Manston, which was not long enough for the systematic biometric checks and screening interviews on all those arriving across the Channel.
Ues other detention facilities
Ministers have since extended the time to five days and have a deal to use other detention facilities to complete the necessary checks.The new Illegal Migration Bill will also give the Government powers to detain anyone arriving illegally for 28 days as well as placing a duty on the Home Secretary to swiftly deport them to a safe third country such as Rwanda.
Home Office officials maintained “thorough checks” were carried out on all small boat arrivals to confirm a migrant’s identity and link it to their biometric details.A Home Office spokesman said: “Our highest priority is protecting the safety and security of this country, which is why the UK has world-class police, security and intelligence agencies and a robust counter-terrorism framework.
“If an individual of national security interest entered the UK as an illegal migrant, we would take the firmest possible steps which could include removal, action by law enforcement or other appropriate measures.”
