Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Order 2020

Lord Paddick Excerpts

Wednesday 18th November 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Paddick (LD) [V]]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing this draft order. Its main purpose is, to quote from the Explanatory Memorandum that accompanies it, to

“ensure that the UK can continue to utilise electronic passport gates (e-Gates), a secure and efficient mechanism for travellers to cross the border, to process the arrival of citizens of current EU and EEA member states and Switzerland entering the UK as visitors after the end of the transition period”.

I want to draw the Committee’s attention to the hypocrisy of a Government who campaigned to leave the European Union on the back of the slogan “Taking Back Control”—a phrase that they continue to use to this day, particularly in relation to our borders. The only way this order can be described as taking back control of our borders is that the decision to keep them open with the same level of control, or lack of it, as when we were members of the EU is going to be taken by the UK Government, rather than that decision being a consequence of being a member of the European Union.

What is more, in a vain attempt to avoid being accused of hypocrisy in the face of their promise not to treat EU citizens more favourably than those from outside the EU, the Government have weakened the UK border in relation to citizens of the B5JSSK countries—Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the USA—by allowing citizens from those countries to use e-gates. Not only are the Government not taking back control of their borders; they admit in their own documentation that e-gates are not secure, or at least do not deliver an acceptable level of security. Let me explain. The Explanatory Memorandum goes on to say that, with the end of free movement, EEA citizens will require leave to enter and remain in the UK

“but those coming as visitors will be able, like other non-visa nationals, to obtain leave to enter at the border for six months”

and that this instrument will

“allow EEA citizen visitors to obtain leave by going through an e-Gate. This leave will be granted for six months in the same way as it is granted to … B5JSSK nationals … who have been able to obtain leave”

by entering through the e-gate since 2019. I think the Minister explained that this happened in May 2019.

Cynics will accuse the Government of extending e-gate access to B5JSSK nationals, which was done only last year, only to avoid being accused of treating EU citizens more favourably after Brexit. The Government have previously said that the decision was made to “better manage the queues” at the UK border, but the point of the border is to keep undesirable people out of the UK—not to make it easier for everyone, including undesirable people, to pass through it. Until the changes were made, B5JSSK nationals had to hand a boarding card to a Border Force officer at the UK border, explain the purpose of their visit and how long they were staying, and prove that they had somewhere to stay and sufficient funds to sustain them during their time in the UK. I am told—the Minister will correct me if I am wrong—that approximately 3,000 USA nationals were turned away at the border annually when these checks were in place. Now there are no checks.

In the chapter entitled “The border of the future” in the Government’s published plans for a points-based immigration system, they outline an idea for “Electronic Travel Authorisations” to be introduced at some unspecified time in the future. The Government claim that these

“will allow security checks to be conducted and more informed decisions taken on information obtained at an earlier stage, as to whether individuals should be allowed to travel to the UK.”

Presumably, these checks and “more informed decisions” will be similar to the checks and informed decisions that Border Force officers used to undertake at the UK border, resulting in 3,000 American citizens a year not being allowed to enter the UK, and before the B5JSSK citizens were allowed to use e-gates. But what happens to UK border security in the meantime? Are the Government now saying that we will take back control of our border eventually?

Continued access to EU databases is also in doubt, particularly the electronic system that allows UK authorities to check whether an EU citizen has been convicted of a criminal offence in any EU country. Not only will allowing EU citizens to use e-gates not be taking back control of our borders; we are less likely to be able to identify criminals entering the UK.

The Government have published advice for UK citizens seeking to visit the EU next year. It states that UK citizens must have at least six months left on their passport, show an onward or return ticket, have enough money for their stay, use separate lanes from EU, EEA and Swiss nationals, and be limited to visits of 90 days in any 180 days. Meanwhile, EU, EEA and Swiss nationals visiting the UK will continue to use the e-gates and be able to stay for six months, take a day trip to Lille on the Eurostar and come back for another six months—not that there will be any way in which to check whether they have overstayed their six-month leave to remain.

Only the EU is taking back control of its borders. This Government are significantly, albeit voluntarily, giving up control of the UK border, thereby making it easier for criminals and those who want to stay in the UK illegally to enter and remain. To use an often-used government phrase, that is not what the British people voted for. I may table a Motion of Regret when this order comes before the House for approval.