Almost all coverage of illegal migration into Britain to date makes reference to the ‘Channel crisis.’ But reports this week suggest the scope of the crisis is widening, with migrants having discovered a new route into the country.
Less than a fortnight after the Tory government said it would work closer with social media companies to take down online smuggling content, “such as criminals sharing information about illegal Channel crossings,” it has emerged that this new route is being pushed on sites like TikTok.
The Daily Telegraph reports that gangs are offering to smuggle people in lorries from Santander on Spain’s north coast to the southern English coastal port of Portsmouth. Individuals, it adds, are charged £14,000 (€16,300)—almost quadruple the amount for Channel crossings—for the sake of a less dangerous journey and “to avoid the improved border security for those travelling via ferry and Eurostar from northern France.”
Gangs are advertising the route on social media with images of lorries and London sites, like the London Eye.
Officials have already noticed a rise in the number of people attempting to enter the country via Portsmouth, noting that “the numbers detected at Portsmouth and Poole suggested some displacement of irregular migrants looking to enter the UK clandestinely to Normandy and Spain, following improvements to port security at Calais, Coquelles and Dunkirk.”
The route appears to offer a fresh blow to the Conservative government, which, despite constant promises, is already failing spectacularly to maintain border security. It comes at the same time that EU officials reportedly turned down an attempt by Rishi Sunak to create a new migrant return deal. If illegal migration into Britain is to drastically come down, this will most likely need to be done by the British government.
