UK shifts border to Calais to curb flow of migrants

Britain and France swapped their borders yesterday, each pushing immigration controls to the far shore of the Channel in an attempt to reduce the flow of asylum-seekers.

British immigration officers will operate in Calais and Dunkirk, and eventually all France's Channel ports, to intercept bogus refugees before they reach British soil. A small team of French officers will perform similar duties in Dover. But since there is no significant flow of illegal immigrants from Kent to the Pas de Calais, this is mostly a piece of diplomatic window-dressing to prevent criticism in France.

How effective the British immigration teams in France will be, is unclear. The flow of illegal immigrants across the Channel has been sharply reduced since the closure of the Sangatte refugee camp just over a year ago.

British and French immigration officers already routinely work in each other's countries. The new scheme will increase their numbers and extend their sphere of operations. It was agreed at a summit between President Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair a year ago.

Beverley Hughes, the Home Office minister, said: "With the measures we are announcing, we are effectively moving our borders across the Channel. UK immigration officers will be able to stop would-be illegal immigrants even before they set off for the UK."

Once an asylum-seeker reaches Britain, the Government cannot send them back to France or their country of origin until their request for asylum has been processed. Under the new arrangements, the Home Office hopes to spot more bogus refugees before they leave France.

People suspected of being illegal immigrants can be kept in holding areas provided for the use of the "receiving" country for up to 24 hours. After that time, anyone whose travel papers are not in order will be handed over to the local police.

Last year, the Government met its target of halving the number of asylum-seekers in the UK from a peak of 100,000 in 2002. Ms Hughes said: "We are making it more and more difficult for illegal immigrants to get into Britain, similar checks on Eurostar passengers [before leaving Paris] have cut by 90 per cent the number of individuals arriving without proper documents."

MigrationwatchUK, a pressure group opposed to mass immigration, claimed yesterday that more than five million immigrants could enter Britain over the next three decades.

The group said the British population could grow by up to 7.8 million by 2031 - more than the population of London - of which 5.2 million would be new immigrants. It said the figures were based on the Government's own projections.

The Home Office disputed the claims. A spokesman said the best estimate of new immigrants into the UK over the next 30 years was 3.8 million. He said Migrationwatch was wrong to claim that the accession of 10 East European countries to the European Union in three months' time would lead to a big increase in immigration.