English Channel officers at ‘breaking point' as migrants crossings this year passes 35,000

Britain's border guards face a trio of threats which could leave them in the "worst of all worlds", MPs will be warned this week.

Suella Braverman: Only route to the UK is a safe and legal route

Dover MP Natalie Elphicke will tell them officers at the port are overwhelmed, with more than 35,000 people crossing the Channel in small boats this year.

Ms Elphicke is also worried that plans for a new EU entry-exit system could result in major delays for passengers.

She fears the new arrangements may lead to “very long check-in times” and could “add up to 10 minutes for each vehicle to be cleared”.

A third worry is lorries carrying “dangerous and defective” goods and food are entering the UK from the EU.

The Tory MP says there is “grave concern” that the Government has scrapped plans to build new border facilities.

CRISIS: More than 35,000 migrants have crossed the Channel this year

CRISIS: More than 35,000 migrants have crossed the Channel this year (Image: GETTY)

Warning of the impact of the small boats crisis on the community, she said: “With 35,000 coming through small boats this year, the situation is just overwhelming for the officers at the Port of Dover and at Manston, at the nearby processing centre.

“We simply can’t cope with the number of people who are coming in illegally.” Ms Elphicke supports “joint patrols on the beaches with the French” and wants the creation of a “joint security zone across the Channel” to be considered.

A priority is “stopping those boats getting in the water in the first place”.

Ms Elphicke will voice her concerns in a debate she has secured on Tuesday.

Her concerns about the impact of new border checks on delays at the port were last week echoed by Doug Bannister, the port’s chief executive.

He told MPs that with just seven months to go before new biometric checks are due to be introduced, the port still does not know what the procedures will be.

“We need the rules of the game,” he told the transport committee. “We need to see what the technology is going to be like.”

A Government spokeswoman said: “Despite the lies sold by the people smugglers, migrants who travel through safe countries to illegally enter the UK will not be allowed to start a new life here.

“We will go further and faster to tackle those gaming the system, using every tool to deter illegal migration, disrupt the business model of people smugglers and relocate to Rwanda, those with no right to be in the UK.” 

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