Tories renew border police force call

A Conservative-commissioned report has called for a dedicated border police force and described the current system as inadequate.

 

Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Stevens, an adviser to both Gordon Brown and David Cameron, officially launched the report with the Tory leader and shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve on Tuesday.

 

The report argued the case for a special force with its own chief constable to combat illegal immigration, human trafficking and gun and drug smuggling.

 

It recommended that the force bring together the four main border services - including parts of the police, HMRC, the Border and Immigration Agency, UK Visas and the security section of the Department of Transport.

 

"The lack of a clear border security strategy has resulted in a situation where agencies are unaware of where their shared priorities lie," it said.

 

"This has resulted in key duties not being carried out, resources not properly allocated, organisations not working together as they should and focus being placed on narrow border control issues, specific to each agency and not the overall border security picture of the UK."

 

Lord Stevens said border security "has long been one of my greatest concerns".

 

"The challenges to our borders today are from terrorism, organised crime, people trafficking, illegal immigration and fraud," he said.

 

He said the threats were "greater and more sophisticated" than ever and that a "developing global environment" meant that current border control and the "security apparatus of yesterday is no longer adequate".

 

"For too long, there has been a lack of a comprehensive overarching border security strategy," he said.

 

"There has been an imbalance in investment and inefficient use of resources. A silo culture has resulted in a reluctance to engage with partner organisations, including, most damagingly, the inefficient sharing of intelligence.

 

"The control of our borders simply cannot be managed effectively under current arrangements."

 

Welcome

 

Cameron welcomed the report, saying that Tory security policy "is about responding to old threats like crime to new ones like climate change by making Britain safer and greener".

 

Describing Britain's borders as "porous", he said there was insufficient protection against "the drug dealers, people traffickers, gun smugglers and terrorists who pose a threat to our way of life".

 

He pointed out that no single organisation was responsible for policing the borders, with 11 agencies reporting to different organisations and accountable to different cabinet ministers.

 

"If you want to know why the government has no clue how many immigrants are in our country and why our streets seem to have so many weapons and drugs – there is your answer," he said.

 

"Our borders are literally our first line of defence, so we've got to do all we can to strengthen them."

 

Cameron dismissed the establishment of the border security force as "cosmetic change" and called for a "whole new approach".

 

Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve added: "It is time for a new integrated approach to managing our borders - one which brings together all the agencies responsible for securing the UK's boundaries and allows us to fight back against the criminals who want to compromise Britain's security."