Local Councillor Highlights Problems of Illegal Immigration in Rural Warwickshire

7.29.42am GMT Mon 5th Mar 2007

Councillor Nigel Rock

Councillor Nigel Rock (Liberal Democrat - Stockton and Napton) has been working with Southam Police to address problems at the M40 Services.

The villages of Stockton, Napton and Shuckburgh are policed from the local market town of Southam. The Southam policing area includes the services on the M40. Officers are drawn from village policing to attend to incidents at the "Barnhill" services (nominally called Warwick services, but actually in Stratford district). This service area handles several millions of vehicles each year and it is thought to be the busiest motorway service area in the UK.

Crime at the services represents 15.4% of Southam crime figures.

The service area is the point where truck drivers tend to stop for a first break after leaving Dover some 3 hours previously. This presents the first opportunity for any stowaways to disembark, as they do on a frequent but irregular basis. If and when the police are called, they sometimes travel some 12 miles from local villages to deal with incidents.

Working with Southam Police Safer Neighbourhood Team, Nigel Rock triggered an all agency meeting to discuss matters, chaired by Chief Inspector Christine Wadsworth. This was a well organised and supported meeting by local councillors of all parties, the service operators and the immigration service. There was considerable agreement about the steps to improve crime prevention and response.

Councillor Nigel Rock said "There was an excellent response from Welcome Break and many positive ideas put forward. I thank Local Councillors of all parties for their positive contribution to the crime issues and I am sure that we can improve things".

A way forward over immigration issues was unclear. The immigration service seem to have a lack of proper process to deal with immigration stowaways, which makes life difficult for the Police and Service Area management. Possibly of deeper significance is the security issue this gap in the system represents. Depending on circumstance, persons might be handed a card in various languages and told to make their way to immigration centres either at Croydon or Liverpool. In some other circumstances they are taken to a local centre at Solihull (9am-4pm). At risk persons are offered a "taxi service" by the police to Leamington police station, so they can make their way from there. Often they are not detained nor is the accuracy of any recorded particulars (which appear to be few) verified. Having been temporarily in the hands of the authorities, they may be immediately released.

Nigel Rock said "The frustrating thing for me is the heavy burden of time this places on the local police, for what appears to be a questionable outcome." He also said "These individuals are probably the victims of people trafficking, are in a poor state having had no food or drink for days, and if released represent a risk to themselves and the public - one can only imagine that petty crime would be needed to survive their onward journey, which again impacts local areas."

Nigel also said: "I am pleased with the Police response to my concerns. Clearly this is a multi dimensional problem. The immigration issues are not going to be easy to resolve but we have taken the first step towards doing that."

The Liberal Democrats advocate the creation of an integrated border force, incorporating all the different agencies which presently have overlapping responsibilities (customs, Transport Police etc etc). The current situation seems to make something of a mockery of immigration control -- as soon as these persons can get into the country they are lost, and of course they could be anyone.