Ben Bradley, MP for Mansfield and Warsop, has praised yesterday’s meeting of the Calais Group on the issue of illegal immigration and channel crossings. The Calais Group is made up of Home Secretary Suella Braverman and counterparts from France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as representatives from the European Commission.
Ben has recently been standing up for his constituents across Mansfield and Warsop and highlighting their concerns about illegal immigration and small boat crossings from safe countries. He has done this by raising the issue during statements from Home Office Officials such as the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman and Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick in the House of Commons.
The Calais Group met for discussions on tackling illegal immigration, where they discussed solutions to reduce the flow of illegal migration and agreed to support working arrangements between crime agencies such as the NCA and Interpol.
As part of this meeting the UK agreed to seek a working arrangement with Frontex, Europe’s external border agency, to bolster its upstream efforts to contain illegal migration, as other countries also committed to bolster their support. Frontex has a particular focus on tackling migration from western Balkan countries, such as Albania.
The group also agreed to enhance cooperation of the Joint Intelligence Cell situated in Calais, to allow operational teams to better identify and respond to criminal networks. The cell has dismantled 59 organised crime groups involved in illegal crossings since it was set up in July 2020.
Commenting, Ben stated:
‘The issue of channel crossings and illegal immigration is something people in Mansfield contact me about daily. I even recently wrote to hundreds of people in Mansfield who have contacted me on this very subject and set out what I have been doing to urge government to act.’
‘This meeting could be a really important step to finally addressing this issue and stopping these crossings. The best aspect is that the UK will seek a deal with Frontex. Such a deal will ensure not only improve the registration of illegal migrants, but will ensure rapid return procedures.’
‘Ultimately illegal immigration is an international issue and it is important that we work with out European partners to solve this.’
‘While this meeting is welcome I know my constituents want to see action not words and so I will be continuing to push government for urgent action to stop these crossings for good.’
