LONDON: Nineteen people suspected of terrorist activity entered the UK via small boats in the English Channel last year, British security services have warned.
The suspects, identified via routine fingerprinting, include five Iraqis, five Iranians, four Afghans, four Somalis and one Libyan.
Seven of the individuals are under investigation in other countries for terrorist activity, with others now being monitored by UK counterterrorism police, MI5 and GCHQ.
At least five are thought to have links to Daesh, and three of those with its affiliate group in Afghanistan.
A report by the Daily Mail said most of the suspects had applied for asylum in the UK, were all living in taxpayer-funded hotels, and could not be deported in part due to human rights legislation.
A security source told the Mail: “It’s a real problem and not something we’re able to easily stop. Once they’re here we can monitor them and limit any potential threat they pose, but it adds to the overall surveillance burden.”
MP Bob Seely, a former British Army officer, said the news should provide a “reality check” to those opposed to tougher UK border policy.
“There are now not only criminals coming into the country illegally, but people with terrorist affiliations. This is appalling and deeply concerning,” he told the Mail.
“Our security agencies have enough on their plate without having to increase monitoring to cope with an influx of foreign terror suspects.
His Conservative Party colleague Natalie Elphicke MP said: “People will rightly be concerned that terror suspects have been able to enter our country in small boats and not be detained. It’s a national scandal. This raises serious issues of national security.”
Elphicke, who represents Dover, the port city on the English coast facing France, added: “Ministers must urgently review this situation and make sure that public protection always comes first.”
The UK is currently thought to have 3,000 people deemed “subjects of interest” to security services, but resources only allow for 10 people at any one time to be constantly surveilled.
Moreover, material gathered against individuals via such means is often inadmissible in UK courts, making it harder to use in efforts to deport people suspected of terrorist activity.
Security services also try not to reveal such evidence where possible in case it undermines efforts to surveil other targets.
The number of people using small boats to cross the Channel last week, meanwhile, was 1,057, making it the highest total in a seven-day period this year.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made stopping the flow a priority for his government, after at least 45,755 people made the dangerous and illegal journey in 2022.
The government’s flagship policy, the Illegal Migration Bill, is currently making its way through Parliament, and will include measures to make it easier to deport people who enter the country illegally.
A Home Office spokesman told the Mail: “If an individual of national security interest entered the UK as an illegal migrant, we would take the firmest possible steps, which could include removal, action by law enforcement or other appropriate measures.
“As the prime minister has said, this government is focused on stopping small boats, and the Illegal Migration Bill will enable us to take back control of our borders and ensure we have an asylum system that is fair, safe and legal.”