The UK’s borders are expected to be extended to the Eurostar terminal in Brussels, in a deal aimed at reducing the number of illegal immigrants crossing the English Channel.
According to the online news provider Ananova, the Home Secretary David Blunkett is due to finalise a deal with the Belgian interior ministry that will give UK immigration officers full powers to operate in Belgium.
Under the deal, UK immigration will be set up at Brussels-Midi station, where officers will be able to refuse entry to passengers carrying incorrect, false or stolen documentation.
Ananova reports that similar measures introduced in France stopped some 9,000 people from reaching the UK in 2003 and reduced the number of asylum applications at London’s Waterloo station by some 90%.
The Immigration Service’s director of border control David Roberts is quoted as saying: “It’s about getting ahead of the game. We don’t want this to turn into a problem and by being there in Brussels it won’t turn into a problem.”
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
