Illegal migrants to escape prosecution as CPS targets smugglers

Migrants entering Britain illegally will no longer face prosecution, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said, as it vowed to go after the smugglers instead.

The CPS advised its prosecutors that they should not seek to charge passengers reaching the UK in either small boats or lorries as they often had no choice in how they travelled or were victims of exploitation by traffickers.

But smugglers, repeat offenders and those who had previously been deported should be targeted for prosecution. It comes as record numbers of migrants continue to cross the Channel, with 6,000 already this year, double the numbers in 2020, itself a record year.

The setting out of the advice not to prosecute in such stark terms could prove embarrassing for the Home Office which this week unveiled its Borders and Nationality Bill increasing the penalty for illegally entering Britain from a maximum six months in jail to four years.

Alp Mehmet, Chair of the think tank Migration Watch UK, said: "The CPS's take on this part of the Bill confirms the difficulty there has always been in securing convictions of illegal entrants. 

"The CPS view that migrants have no choice is telling and suggests another stumbling block for the Home Office, before any case even gets to court. It seems the Home Secretary and Director of Public Prosecutions are at loggerheads already. This will not end well."

The agreement struck between police, prosecutors, the National Crime Agency, Border Force and the Home Office over cases involving "illegal entry" will also apply to those arriving by lorry.

Fresh guidance published on Thursday also sets out the circumstances when criminal charges may be considered for those bringing migrants to the UK while posing a risk to their lives.

The CPS said the guidance, published on Thursday, confirmed that "individuals who have played a significant role in people-smuggling, including those who organise and pilot dangerous boat crossings across the English Channel, can expect to face prosecution where this is supported by the evidence.

"However, recognising migrants and asylum seekers often have no choice in how they travel and face exploitation by organised crime groups, prosecutors are also asked to consider the published public interest factors in charging those merely entering illegally.

"The guidance therefore advises that passengers of boats and other vehicles should not be prosecuted unless they are repeat offenders or have previously been deported - and should instead be with dealt with by administrative removal channels."

Frank Ferguson, who leads CPS work on immigration crime, said the approach "strikes a proportionate balance between deterring criminal gangs from attempting dangerous crossings and acting in the interests of justice and compassion".

He added: "It is right that those who exploit and profit from the desperation of others, or put lives at risk through controlling or driving overcrowded small boats or confined lorries, are considered for prosecution.

"But we also have a duty to consider the public interest in prosecuting passengers, who often have no choice about their method of travel, for offences that can usually be better dealt with by removal."