Border Force has a large day to day budget with more than 10,000 staff and capital investment this year of £154 m. It has a fleet of 11 vessels, 5 cutters and 6 coastal protection vessels. Its prime tasks are to prevent illegal smuggling of people and goods across our borders.
At least 1 cutter and 2 coastal protection vessels are in continuous use to pick up people on overcrowded illegal small boats in the Channel, and 1 cutter is provided for the EU’s search and rescue missions in the Med under Frontex. This leaves Border Force short of vessels for the 12,000 miles of exposed UK coast not close to France and the small boat routes.
Border Force helps Customs enforce against goods smuggling as well as acting against illegal entrants to the UK. The difficult thing to understand is why they do not do more to smash the gangs and implement stated government policy to stop the small boats.
When the last government needed to stop lorries bringing illegals into the UK, often endangering their lives, it took strong action. Even if the lorry driver and truck owner knew nothing about the illegal person hiding themselves in or on some part of the truck, the driver/ company was accused of a crime and fined. When Border Force or some other safe boat service brings illegal migrants in they are not treated as helping the criminal gangs that offer a trip to the UK for profit. The illegal migrant often relies on the pick up mid Channel and the profiteer probably tips them off on how to contact Border Force to give them a free ride.
This is a very unpopular way of spending taxpayer cash, and clearly a way to boost numbers of migrants, not a way to reduce them. The last government legislated to make it impossible for an illegal migrant to be granted asylum, and to send people to Rwanda. This government scrapped those ideas. Its substitute of spending more on Border Force is not working. To break the business model of the gangs, the governments stated policy, it needs to change the operating guidance to Border Force.
August 5, 2025
I was under the impression that the Border Force only had a couple of boats, with only one of them patrolling the coast at any one point. I mean they are so ineffective at protecting our borders that could surely be the only reason so many thousands of migrants turn to the RNLI to taxi them into British waters as the first step to a life of completely free luxury. When you add the number of vessels we actually have to the continuous stream of RNLI taxi-boats that rush out to collect their non-fee-paying passengers as soon as they get the call that the illegal migrants have been instructed to place, it’s no wonder that thousands and thousands are now coming in.
Sir John, you say that three of our vessels are in continuous use to pick up people on overcrowded illegal small boats in the Channel’. Is that really their brief? Picking people up when it should be patrolling the coastline and sending them back from whence they came? Is this really what they are told to do?
August 5, 2025
Border force and the RBLI should be charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigration. It’s obvious the government is funding the RNLI as donations have dried up in disgust.
It should be made illegal to offer any support until they actually land on British soil then they should be put in ferries back to France. The government has no intention of stopping this ruinous trade in fact it encourages it.
I’m sorry you didn’t publish my piece on the collapse of net stupid in America. The tide is turning.
August 5, 2025
UNCLOS provides for the UK to enforce Art 5 of the ECHR to turn the boats back in the Contiguous Zone beyond UK’s territorial waters and to arrest the drivers of the boats.
August 5, 2025
It also says to put refugees into a safe harbour ….not a harbour of their choice, we can, under this ‘law of the sea’ return them to the safe harbour of calais
August 5, 2025
Ian
I think you may be correct about the RNLI being paid. Down in Selsey at the weekend, I got chatting to a local resident about the annual RNLI celebrations next week … he said this year it should be really good, as for the last two years they’ve been short of money. So where has the extra money come from?
August 5, 2025
Sharon:
I’m betting that our Government is paying a lot of taxpayers money, to pick the migrants up, and bring them safely here. If it is the case, the Government should have to disclose it, and how much. They are doing things, with our money, behind our backs, and I, for one, is fed up with my money being spent in this way. There should be full disclosure – even if it does cost them votes.
August 5, 2025
I see a second British bank has pulled out of the Net Stupid policies. Some still have the policy to charge more for mortgages if your house doesn’t meet energy efficiency standards. Thank goodness Trump is turning the tables on this practice. Meanwhile, the EU is continuing with their policy that you can’t rent or sell a home unless it meets an acceptable EPC level. They would rather have people living on the streets than in homes.
August 5, 2025
Come on, the required EU’s EPC level for renting/selling is E or above by 2030 and D by 2033.
Only properties rated EPC F or G would have to be improved by 2030.
One would have to have a rather derelict house not to be able to get a E rating.
A townhouse I know of in the North of France, built in 1947 without any particular energy improvements over the last 30 years, got a E rating when it was sold a couple of years ago. Another one built around the same time only had to have proper draught excluders to the front and back doors and some insulation boards put by the owner in the attic to move from F to D. Cost: less than €950.
Furthermore that applies only to properties in the EU.
Isn’t your comment ‘a storm in a teacup‘.
August 5, 2025
A house I know of with double glazing etc in Craster has just sold for £1 million (look it up) – it’s EPC was 1 and has been revised to, I believe 27, because the rating man did not see the gas tank. G rating. It’s moronic, I have lived in a 1,500 year old castle with a higher rating!
August 5, 2025
Approximately 85% of homes in Spain are projected to require upgrades to meet the new energy efficiency standards. They must have a lot of derelict houses.
Maybe you are unaware that mortgage lenders in the UK also have the policy to charge borrowers more for a property that doesn’t meet the Net Stupid EPC ratings. If I choose to live in a house that is rated D or below, what on earth has it got to do with the mortgage lender? All they should be interested in is the value of the property. Yet again, it is an example of the draconian dictatorship we are being forced to live under.
August 5, 2025
Certainly, when both BF and RNLI vessels entered French waters to “rescue” migrants recently, those people should have been returned to a French port – not over our border!
August 5, 2025
BF or bloody foolish should be turning these boats back across the accepted mid-Channel.
They are not doing their job of securing our border, or will they be renamed ‘Welcoming Force’?
August 5, 2025
We don’t need to deliver them to a French Port – just stop them entering British waters and they are still the responsibility of the French. Can’t see why we don’t do that.
August 5, 2025
Fully Agree
August 5, 2025
@Kathy +1
Charles Moore – The Telegraph
the RNLI helps the people-smugglers maintain a thriving trade, since the traffickers’ customers believe, usually correctly, that they will be saved. Repeated failure by either main party to stop the trade has placed an unfair burden on others. He then goes onto to talk about how we have medical teams lined up to refer these criminals to the NHS for which the Taxpayer also pays, in an anecdotal view from those not wishing to be on record he refers to people coming just to immediately demand kidney dialysis funded by the taxpayer.
The Government and Parliament appear to be talking up tax rises, to fund all their malicious punishment actions of fighting the people
August 5, 2025
They won’t come if it’s NOT pleasant to come. Is that hard to comprehend? Pass a couple of laws, stop paying lawyers/QC’s from the public purse for representing illegal entrants, no accommodation in mainland, immediate transfer to St. Helena or such, where they are required to work, etc.
August 5, 2025
Beachgoers tackle small boat migrants and pin them to the ground as they rush ashore on a Spanish beach
The dramatic scenes unfolded on Sotillo Beach in Castell de Ferro, Granada on Sunday afternoon.
Can you not hear the outcry from all the Labour/ lib-dems MPs calling for the arrest of all the Beachgoers if this happened on the Dover coast
August 5, 2025
@Peter Wood – It seems strange that when a UK Citizen breaks laws in other domains, the UK through its offices in those countries organise legal representation for which the UK Citizen has to pay for. It should be the same for those that invade the UK, become criminals all their legal expenses should be met by their home Country.
What is also out-of-sink is that the charity funded by the UK taxpayer based in France ‘Care4Calais’, set up by the UK Legal profession to tout for business – and the UK pays
August 5, 2025
They have had a year to look at the law. They trashed the last government’s position of denying illegal arrivals to ever claim asylum and the right to settle in the UK.
Labour also fairly recently announced that legal aid fees for asylum cases would be increased. Direct costs to the taxpayer therefore will rise from £47m to £61m a year.
August 5, 2025
“What does Border Force do?”
Don’t know.However, it presumably gave an impression at one time of taking action.
There will be more of this to allay fears.
Government will just plough on – unless there is a major upset.
August 5, 2025
Great point bout lorry drivers being fined when illegals surreptitiously clamber aboard and hide in vehicles, yet Border Force and others not being penalised for seeking out and deliberately importing migrants.
Fine the RNLI every time they pick up and import a boat load of illegals. They’d soon be less sanctimonious about their involvement in transporting and dumping these criminals on our shores. I say that as a seafaring resident of a south coast town with a much-loved RNLI station.
August 5, 2025
@Wanderer +1 – it used to be my go to charity, volunteers putting their own lives at risk to save others. They have now degenerated into a taxi service from inside French waters for criminals not in danger just to aid the illegal people traffickers.
August 5, 2025
I’d have thought minor donations and Will bequests have collapsed due to misuse of the RNLI rescue service.
Any funding helps the comfortable illegal travel into UK.
August 5, 2025
MT
Indeed last year I said to a collector, I will no longer give to The RNLI whilst they support people smuggling, she did not look surprised, I think many people had said the same to her recently.
Shame as it was a very worth while charity for many years, still is with the exception of the area around Dover, but sometimes you have to make a stand on principle.
August 5, 2025
🤣🤣🤣🤣 We all know what Border force along with the RNLI do there a xxx taxi service for all the illegals that make it half way across the channel
August 5, 2025
@Mick – and who gets to fund this criminal activity, of course the Taxpayer. As a charity the RNLI gets to force even those that don’t support its criminal activity to pay them
August 5, 2025
Exactly. We’ve seen this happening on video since 2020. How can anyone be asking such a question now!
August 5, 2025
Today due to high winds we are exporting 13% of our generation at a price of £27 gwh. Continuing NESOs business model of sell cheap, buy dear.
Although we have a surplus of electricity CCGT plants are on hot standby or running on minimum load as back up costing a fortune.
Does Milibrain know that running a gas turbine on minimum load produces a lot of CO2 cancelling out any saved by the windmills. No, thought mot.
August 5, 2025
Paul Holmewood on Conservative Woman today published the report by 5 independent ie not government sponsored scientists debunking the Climate Change scam.
The whole house of cards is about to collapse as we under the tutelage of Milibrain continue our path of self destruction.
Please John, shine a spotlight on this ner stupid reasoning before we’re all bankrupt.
Reply I have published two short books on why the net zero policies are too dear, self contradictory , self harming and undermining UK industry and budgets. I regularly update these arguments here, on X and the media.
August 5, 2025
IW :
I think the CCC/DESNZ/Miliband know exactly what they are doing.
August 5, 2025
If only we could invent something simple & cheap to absorb co2 …….its called a TREE
August 5, 2025
Border Farce does what the Government of the day wants it to do. The Government of the day, for the past 5 years, has wanted it to ship-in tens of thousands of criminal migrants …. from war-torn France .
So that’s what it is doing.
The policy is deliberate.
August 5, 2025
Dear Donna, How dispiriting it must be for Border Force officers on such duties.
Most, at a guess, will have joined with a patriotic desire to serve and defend their country but will realise on a daily basis that they are unwillingly harming it. They, more than anyone, will understand that a few of those they shepherd in are even here to cause trouble and foment disorder.
Some officers will no doubt be numbed or have embraced the ideology of submission. Sadly, they would probably be useless if Border Force were actually required to do what it says on the label.
August 6, 2025
The whole issue has been one of obfuscation and worse for decades.
I hope when Reform get in they will look at holding individuals to account via a public enquiry.
August 5, 2025
I’ve said it many, many, many times if not a thousand times. International law in the ECHR Article 5, the UN Conventions on Refugees and on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the international Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), not to mention UK’s Offences against the Person Act 1861, give the UK all the legal cover it needs to send the boats back to France and/or arrest and imprison the drivers of the boats. Has the UK even tried to take either action? No, because it lacks the political will to stand up to France, to the EU or to the European Court of Human Rights. Macron’s criticism of UK for not eliminating or reducuing the pull factors was absolutely correct. He was not even challenged on the boats being an easy option for France to deal with illegal migrants in France whose applications for asylum have been refused and to whom deportation orders have been issued.
Neither the Conservative northe Labour party have tried in any serious way to stop the boats. The Rwanda scheme was a good idea but had too many loopholes once the illegals had set foot in the UK. Yes, Australia’s geography is different from UK’s and it is not subject in any way to the ECHR, but the key reason for its success and UK’s failure was that it had the political will and ignored international criticsm, whereas UK’s main political parties lack the will and fawn at the feet of EU and other political leaders.
August 5, 2025
Our governments are scare of France as they provide 20% of our energy …..and they control the off switch
August 5, 2025
You are right it’s the political will that’s lacking. Greece has implemented a much more rigorous plan to stop illegal arrivals despite being under ECHR etc. It is the interpretation of ECHR by UK judges that is the problem, for example the ruling last November that the word “family” has no meaning in law or common usage and so is not confined to relatives of those granted asylum who are entitled to come here under the ECHR family life clause (hence the Afghan who brought 20 “family” members).
August 5, 2025
The title Border ‘Force’ misleads.
There is no force. They are limp and escort risky land invaders to privileges at others’ expense.
August 5, 2025
“What does Border Force do?” take our money and aid people traffickers to make their money
August 5, 2025
Illegal migrant boats escorted by the French navy are clearly not in any danger. So there is no reason for either Border Force or the RNLI to go out to collect them and when the French navy call in advance to meet at the cross-over point and we should simply refuse saying no lives are in danger. Unless the French navy abandons them in mid Channel and surely they would’t do that would they?
August 5, 2025
Border Force is welcoming migrants & assisting the smuggling gangs
The government has betrayed the democratic mandate for its own agenda
August 5, 2025
In the media yesterday
Germany shows UK how it’s done after cutting asylum seeker arrivals by 50% in 6 months
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged to get a grip on immigration and border security when campaigning for election ahead of May’s general election. Since gaining power, Germany has tightened its border controls, stopped family reunification and abolished a fast-track naturalisation process.
Germany has land borders without fences, the UK has a moat that is monitored
Just having the will and it happens. Also demonstrating the ECHR is not the block our legal teams infer to boost their earnings.
The only thing stopping similar here in the UK is Parliament, they refuse their duty. They take by law UK Taxpayer money then use it to fund the Border Force and the RNLI to pick up criminals not in distress from inside French territorial waters. Government & Parliament in unison to fund illegal and criminal activity
August 5, 2025
The tax-free foreign currency that the gangs are making out of this trade is ginormous. As with the proceeds of smuggling the 100-odd tons of pure cocaine which gets consumed here each year, such illegal funds are highly corrupting. Bribery? Or am I being churlish to even suggest the possibility?
August 5, 2025
The purpose of Border Force, and the RNLI, is clearly to facilitate the illegal immigrants crossing the Channel. There is no other explanation since the illegal immigrants are encouraged by collection from the safety of the French navy, free 4 star hotel (and now housing) accommodation, free clothing, healthcare, mobile ‘phones, entertainment, translation and legal services and the freedom to roam our streets, including outside schools, and take up black market jobs undercutting the indigenous population. Any normal country would see this as an invasion and take appropriate measures, such as keeping unidentified, illegal migrants safely away from us in fenced, guarded, tented encampments.
August 5, 2025
Surely the cost could be seriously reduced for our new immigrants by providing tickets at Gare du Nord Eurostar destination London?
August 5, 2025
A national service the country ought to be proud of, and the workforce proud of what they are doing, has been turned into the butt of jokes.
Don’t blame them because their work has changed from protecting the country from harm, to providing a taxi-service for migrants. They have no regard for the people they pick up; I hear they are informally known within their ranks as the f****** migrants.
The problem has been created by spineless politicians that don’t have the initiative to do what is necessary. Instead of making it unattractive for uninvited migrants to come to the UK, they have given them El Dorado.
August 5, 2025
It would seem that, rather than smashing the gangs, the government is aiding and abetting them.
August 5, 2025
I was tempted to answer s*d all. But that’s not true. They and the RNLI are running a very efficient illegal immigrant water taxi service on behalf of the Labour government.
August 5, 2025
… and for Deliveroo, JustEat etc.
August 5, 2025
Put out on Tik tok and other social media that neither RNLI nor Border Force will pick up boat passengers. Anyone finding themselves in the water will need to drift ashore themselves.
They will have been warned and the hand wringers can make their noise until we stop listening like Ukraine and Gaza. It only takes a couple of weeks for your average viewer to consider the carnage normal.
Jeopardy will remove the draw.
August 5, 2025
2TK says
Small boat migrant deportation scheme to begin this week?
We will send one back in return for another one being sent to the UK
2TK how does that solve anything?
August 5, 2025
Stop trying to spin that the last Conservative government tried to reduce immigration. None of their policies worked, and any proposed changes were thwarted by the courts. Everything they did was just a sop to the British people, and they didn’t want them to succeed. Under the Tories, we experienced the highest level of immigration in our history, which was a tool used to maintain a high GDP, despite a decline in GDP per head. This is why they were voted out, and this is why the current government will likely face a similar outcome.
August 5, 2025
Clearly the current illegal migration situation is unsustainable. Labour is currently busy trying to empty migrants out of hotels into local HMOs but with 900-1000 new people arriving some days, this simply cannot continue. Common sense tells you that something has to change – or more correctly BE changed!
Does Starmer really think this can go on for another four years without major social problems?
August 5, 2025
Until the Government changes policy and attitude towards immigration, this farce will continue. The Border Force and RNLI are both cooperating with the people smugglers, not stopping the boats from coming.
We have had years of weak, ineffective governments of both parties, refusing to do what voters want!
Immigration, both legal and illegal, is causing resentment and anger. A country that does not control its borders is not a country.
That anger is building and will explode if MPs and the government don’t take notice and respond. We are not right-wing headbangers, just ordinary people who have had enough.
August 5, 2025
”Border Force’s mission is to secure the UK border and facilitate legitimate travel and trade, according to GOV.UK.”
They need to update their mission statement to include ‘assisting the French’, and alloing ‘criminals without visa’
August 5, 2025
Perhaps we should call the service “Border Farce”
They employ 10,000 people !
Good grief this shows just how out of control our Government systems and organisations have become.
What do all of these people do, they surely cannot all be searching for illegals who are already here can they, because if so they do not appear to be doing a wonderful Job, because the best plan is to stop them arriving in the first place, at a border where they enter !
This just shows the stupidity of our politicians, help illegals arrive, spread them all over the Country in insecure hotels, so they can then roam at will and become lost to the system !
Why have we got a border force cutter in the Mediterranean, what is it doing there, does not the Eu have a spare boat between the 27 Countries to fulfil that role, and are we being paid for its use ?
August 5, 2025
or ‘Border France’
August 5, 2025
40hr week but with 168hrs in a week, that means you need 4 people to give round the clock cover for just one person on duty at any time. Factor in annual leave, training and other absence you are probably looking at 5 people. I expect many tasks are administrative so don’t have to be covered 24/7, but even so that headline figure could be dramatically reduced when it comes to actual numbers on duty at any one time.
August 5, 2025
DA
You need many more than you suggest, because if you are tracking a person full time, your require more than one at a time because then you have to track all those they meet, etc, etc, etc. Thus I think they prefer/try to do it all electronically if they can, otherwise you need a force lager than all of the armed services put together.
This is the stupidity of allowing a huge number to still roam at will.
August 5, 2025
Eleven boats and 10,000 staff – how does that compute?
Seriously taking the p..s, how many thousands are WFH?
August 5, 2025
What BF does or does not do is at the behest of the Home Office and government. They are merely the whipping boy to attract the flak and to distract from government indltitude. Government should be the focus of our disgust not BF.
August 5, 2025
Stop on Agricola
August 5, 2025
Is the ‘Illegal Migration Act 2023’ still in force, and does our border force have to comply with it ?
I’ve heard that the Act is to be enforce in stages, and matbe that Labour have put it on hold, could anybody please emlighten me to its current status ?
August 5, 2025
This is being done on purpose.
People often claim that Brexit is the reason, as though the EU is doing it as a punishment for leaving. But do we really have to facilitate it? I’d suggest no.
Before Brexit, other EU countries would give people citizenship that allowed them free passage to Britain. Full free movement meant we would have the people who come now PLUS EU citizens, there were millions that came here in a very short period of time.
The boat crossing migrants are a minority; the majority with no rights of residence come here to ‘visit’ and just don’t leave. Many get study visas in universities that are just visa centres (one recent example was the chap who killed his wife in front of their child ).
August 5, 2025
We are a joke Country.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/05/youtubers-help-migrants-exploit-visa-loopholes/
August 5, 2025
I’m surprised that “Border Force” has not yet been re-named “Border Service” as they have done for the police. It would be appropriate.
August 5, 2025
Our govenment needs to be honest with itself and the people ….these criminals coming from France are not refugees and do not need asylum …..and most foreign students are fake
August 5, 2025
like all those Chinese students here to do a Stalin watching their friends.
August 5, 2025
what I fail to understand is WHY DO THESE PEOPLE RISK LIFE AND LIMB
to get here.Almost without exception they have battled their way through
several EU countries(Eldorado according to many politicians and
current affairs broadcasters) to get here?
sid
sid
August 5, 2025
Those who land these illegal immigrants need to be personally liable for their conduct and their costs. Equally those who refuse to deport need to be held personally liable for their conduct conduct of the illegal and their cost.
That includes the Judges.
August 5, 2025
” why they do not do more to smash the gangs and implement stated government policy to stop the small boats.”
Because the government has ordered them not to. That’s why.
And because state employees will happily take the line of least resistance and do as little as necessary to ensure their paychecks continue to drift into their bank accounts unearned by more than lip service.
August 5, 2025
Announced a couple of days too late for your subject.
The chief executive of Ofwat will stand down at the end of the month, the regulator has confirmed.
Ofwat, which regulates the water sector in England and Wales, said David Black had decided that now was the time to “pursue new opportunities”. Last month, the government said Ofwat will be scrapped to create a new watchdog as part of an industry overhaul to address failings. Mr Black, who became chief executive in April 2022, said he wished the team “every success as they continue their important work”.
Ofwat said an interim chief executive will be chosen “in due course”.
Ofwat’s chair Iain Coucher said Mr Black had worked “tirelessly, to bring about transformational change in the water sector”. The decision comes amid widespread criticism of water companies over leaking pipes and sewage spills, with pollution incidents in England hitting a new record.
A long-awaited report on the industry published last month made 88 recommendations to reform the water sector, including increasing bills sharply to pay for investment, making smart meters compulsory, and scrapping Ofwat.
Following its release, Environment Secretary Steve Reed confirmed Ofwat would be abolished.