Fury has erupted over Government plans to scrap the publication of daily Channel migrant figures as Tory MPs accuse Priti Patel of ‘burying bad news’, saying the information was ‘vital’ to assess the progress in tackling the ongoing crisis.
The Home Office currently issues the data after arrivals have been processed by the UK Border Force, typically on the following day, but this could stop when the Ministry of Defence (MoD) takes over operations to intercept migrants, it emerged last night.
The UK Statistics Authority is understood to have raised concerns about the current way migrant numbers are released, but not publishing the numbers would leave ministers open to accusations of trying to hide crucial information from the public.
A Home Office source said it is ‘currently considering advice’ from the authority ‘to ensure the underlying trends and total number of small boat arrivals can be presented clearly’.
The department is now set to release the figures every three months, but the move has drawn criticism from Tory MPs – with one saying it ‘seems more like burying bad news than being transparent about crossings’, The Telegraph reports.
Another anonymous Conservative said: ‘It just looks like covering up, and no doubt journalists will come up with their own figures based on people arriving at Tughaven [the migrant processing centre in Dover] and Freedom of Information requests.’
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, described the decision as ‘absolute nonsense and undemocratic’.
He told GB News: ‘I cannot believe it. I thought “who is advising her [Patel] to do this?”.
‘It is utter nonsense. People are not going to stand back and wait for the figures to be issued. It is all going to come out anyway. It is presumably because they don’t like the flack when large numbers come in.
‘This is absolutely insane and undemocratic. The numbers are clearly going up. My assumption is that the figures will be going up and will continue to go up.’
Former UKIP leader and MEP Nigel Farage also described the proposal as ‘disgraceful’, saying it ‘must not be allowed to happen’ as people are ‘seething’.
Priti Patel has been accused of ‘burying bad news’ Government plans to scrap the publication of daily Channel migrant figures
Official figures show more than three times as many migrants have arrived in Britain so far this month than in the whole of January last year. UK authorities have intercepted more than 950 migrants so far this year – more than three times the 223 in January 2021. Last year, 28,381 people were intercepted in the Channel, compared to just 8,410 in 2020
Border Force officials bring migrants ashore at Dover Harbour after arriving in Speedwell, January 19
And Tory MP for Dover, Natalie Elphicke, said: ‘This is not a statistical exercise – this is a serious crisis where people are exploited by criminal gangs on a daily basis and lives are tragically lost. Daily figures are vital so the progress in tackling this crisis can be properly monitored.’
It comes following revelations that the Army will start building camps to house up to 30,000 Channel migrants from next month.
Plans are being drawn up for soldiers to construct temporary housing on Ministry of Defence land across the UK.
The project is likely to cost tens of millions of pounds. Home Secretary Priti Patel has privately told Tory MPs that work on the first phase is due to start within weeks.
Government sources insist the scheme will be cheaper than the current accommodation provided for migrants, which has seen thousands placed in three and four-star hotels on full board.
Ministers hope the move towards temporary hostel-style housing on military bases will also act as a deterrent to migrants planning to cross the Channel.
On the network of new camps, a Whitehall insider said: ‘There will be accommodation built at a number of bases around the country.
‘We think it will be a deterrent. People will be housed in temporary, pre-fab buildings and not in mid-market hotels once the project had been rolled out.’
Exact locations have not been disclosed, but a new secure site for initial processing of Channel migrants opened in the last few days at an MoD site at Manston, Kent.
It is understood it is due to house illegal immigrants for up to five days after they arrive in the UK, but its role will now be expanded to provide longer-term accommodation.
Separately, the Government has hired planning consultants to handle applications for the ongoing use of Napier barracks in Folkestone.
It has housed up to 350 asylum seekers since September 2020 and ministers plan to keep the site in use until at least 2025. Sources confirmed Napier’s capacity will be extended under the new project.
Billeting migrants at MoD sites will be controversial because Napier has drawn criticism.
A report by an all-party parliamentary group last month described ‘appalling conditions’ at the base and likened it to ‘quasi-detention’, even though occupants are free to come and go as they please.
A Government source said: ‘The MoD will be responsible for sorting out housing for migrants as they arrive. This is likely to involve the use of more barracks or other spaces similar to Napier.
‘We want to dial down the use of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers, which is currently higher than we would like.’
It comes after reports the Home Office is planning for a worst-case scenario of up to 65,000 arrivals across the Channel this year.
Nearly 28,400 migrants reached Britain last year compared with 8,410 in 2020. More than 940 have been intercepted by UK authorities so far this month – more than four times the figure in January last year.
It does not include arrivals yesterday – which are thought to number around 25.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel
Source link