It is now absolutely clear that illegal migration will not be stopped this decade, so the very least that must be done is to stop the bonkers spending around it. Tennis coaches, trips to London Zoo and even friendship have all been paid for by the British public to help illegal migrants settle in after they have crossed the Channel in small boats.
Charities claim the spending saves taxpayers’ cash in the long run by helping people to integrate more quickly and point out that everyone needs help sometimes. But it’s hard not to conclude that a cottage industry has built up around the crossings which means many organisations now have a very profitable, vested interest in arrivals.
The Express has laid out contracts for asylum seekers and refugees costing the taxpayer £6.6billion. They are not limited to small boat crossings and include some of the important work being done to support those who have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded. But that also highlights the reason so many Britons have lost faith in the system.
Across the country, kindhearted people opened their homes to Ukrainians who fled as we watched the war unfold, not just on our TV screens, but in real time on our phones through social media.
Those who came to the UK were overwhelmingly women and children and obviously refugees seeking sanctuary.
But we have also watched tens of thousands of people, mainly young men from the rest of the world, who have travelled through country after country then crossed the Channel to specifically come to the UK. Some masqueraded as children despite being strapping six footers with a five o’clock shadow. They appear to many to be economic migrants jumping the queue rather than vulnerable people who need our support.
It undermines trust in the system.When they are then placed together in what was once the nicest hotel in town where the locals got married and held their celebrations, the character of a whole area changes.
The dossier will undermine faith in the system even further, if that is possible. Most of the bill goes on accommodation and furnishings, but plenty of contracts are baffling.
A “befriending” service, academic studies, lunch with meat, vegetarian and vegan options that cost more per person than the average Tesco meal deal; Easter holiday activities, a day out to Kew Gardens and volleyball session are all covered by the list of contracts.
Britain is a compassionate nation and once illegal migrants are here, then we have to take reasonable steps to give them somewhere to sleep. But at a time when people really are struggling, when pensioners have gone through a bitter winter without their fuel allowance, it is more important than ever that public spending comes under extra scrutiny.
“If someone landed from out of space, they’d say we’ve gone bonkers,” MP Rupert Lowe told the Express.
The dossier also raises questions about one of the key reasons charities give for migrants making the decision to cross the Channel instead of remaining in France, which is clearly a safe country. At least five charities say the ability to speak English is a major factor for many of those who choose to pass through the rest of Europe.
Some say cultural and familial links are also an important factor. Yet a staggering £1.5million was still spent on language lessons, integration activities and befriending services. If the migrants helped through those schemes did not speak English or have links, it feeds concerns they are here for economic reasons, rather than seeking familiarity after fleeing war or persecution.
Last week, the Express witnessed a death-trap boat being escorted into English waters by the French, with one observer branding it a “taxi service”.
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak, who staked his premiership on stopping the boats and lost, has now admitted it could not be done. Keir Starmer has not even put the issue among his top priorities for government, so there is little hope of him stopping arrivals.
Even if Nigel Farage manages to overcome the electoral hurdles he faces, then takes on and beats the Whitehall “blob” and then navigates his way through all of the international organisations in his way, it will take years to resolve.
So the very least the public should be able to expect over the next five years is that their intelligence is not insulted or their money wasted on costly schemes for illegal economic migrants.
