Migrants are taken off a small boat after arriving at England's southern tip from across the English Channel. AP
Migrants are taken off a small boat after arriving at England's southern tip from across the English Channel. AP
Migrants are taken off a small boat after arriving at England's southern tip from across the English Channel. AP
Migrants are taken off a small boat after arriving at England's southern tip from across the English Channel. AP

Britain's handling of Channel migrants 'ineffective and inefficient'


Tim Stickings
  • English
  • Arabic

The UK's Home Office is “ineffective and inefficient” at dealing with rising numbers of migrants who arrive in small boats from across the English Channel, an inspection has found.

David Neal, the chief inspector for borders and immigration, described a series of failures, including shoddy data collection which meant dozens of migrants absconded without having had their photographs or fingerprints taken.

He said effective safeguarding of migrants was “effectively sacrificed” in order to speed up the process and that no interpreters were used at one of the facilities, losing opportunities to gain intelligence on traffickers.

Responding to his report, the Home Office said a new facility for border checks at the disused Manston airfield had improved the system since the inspection, and that failures on land may have stemmed from a focus on saving lives at sea.

“This is an exceptionally high-risk operation where the threat to life is ever present,” it said. “It was right in the circumstances that prioritisation was given to the effort to preserve life.”

More than 14,000 people have made the perilous crossings in small boats this year, a sensitive political issue that reached boiling point when 27 migrants died on their journey to Britain last year.

Britain and France blame each other for failing to rein in the illegal activity, while UK ministers plan to deter prospective migrants by deporting them to Rwanda in a policy widely criticised by human rights groups.

When Mr Neal inspected the facilities, the migrants were processed at two centres at England's southern tip, Tug Haven and Western Jet Foil, although the first has since closed. Manston opened in January and more facilities at Western Jet Foil are planned.

The opposition said Home Secretary Priti Patel, centre, should resign over her department's failings. Getty
The opposition said Home Secretary Priti Patel, centre, should resign over her department's failings. Getty

Mr Neal went public with his frustration that the 88-page inspection report was not released earlier, claiming that Home Office officials had objected to the tone of his foreword.

In it, he said officials were still treating the prolonged cross-Channel traffic as an emergency response in which a “best effort” was deemed enough.

“Data, the lifeblood of decision-making, is inexcusably awful. Equipment to carry out security checks is often first generation and unreliable,” he wrote.

“Staff on the ground are doing their very best, but they are tired. Volumes, at times, are extraordinarily high, and the humanitarian reality of the operation leads to patchy data collection, a characteristic of many crisis responses.”

Inspectors were told that 227 migrants had absconded from secure hotels since September last year, not all of whom had been biometrically registered.

Over a five-week period alone, 57 migrants had absconded — two thirds of whom had not had their fingerprints and photographs taken, the report found.

Yvette Cooper, the home affairs spokesman for the opposition Labour Party, said Home Secretary Priti Patel should be “sacked immediately” over what she called a “shocking level of incompetency”.

“It’s clear that Conservative ministers have absolutely no grip about what’s going on … every time, they go for headlines and not the hard work to do the basics and sort things out,” she said.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “This report is a damning indictment of the Home Office.”

Ms Patel this week announced plans to overhaul the UK's Border Force and to begin testing “contactless border crossings” for travellers by 2024.

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10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m

Sui Dhaaga: Made in India

Director: Sharat Katariya

Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav

3.5/5

New UK refugee system

 

  • A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
  • Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
  • A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
  • To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
  • Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
  • Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
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Producer: T-Series, Anil Kapoor Productions, ROMP, Prerna Arora

Director: Atul Manjrekar

Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rajkummar Rao, Pihu Sand

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History's medical milestones

1799 - First small pox vaccine administered

1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery

1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases

1895 - Discovery of x-rays

1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time

1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin

1953 - Structure of DNA discovered

1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place 

1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill

1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.

1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

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TICKETS

Tickets start at Dh100 for adults, while children can enter free on the opening day. For more information, visit www.mubadalawtc.com.

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TOURNAMENT INFO

Opening fixtures:
Friday, Oct 5

8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers

Saturday, Oct 6
4pm: Nangarhar Leopards v Kandahar Knights
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Balkh Legends

Tickets
Tickets can be bought online at https://www.q-tickets.com/apl/eventlist and at the ticket office at the stadium.

TV info
The tournament will be broadcast live in the UAE on OSN Sports.

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​​​​​​​Penguin Press

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

Gifts exchanged
  • King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
  • Queen Camilla -  Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
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What is graphene?

Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.

It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.

It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.

AUSTRALIA SQUAD v SOUTH AFRICA

Aaron Finch (capt), Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa

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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogenChromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxideUltramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica contentOphiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on landOlivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour

The Vile

Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah

Director: Majid Al Ansari

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%C2%A0profile
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Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

Emirates exiles

Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.

Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.

Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.

Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

Profile

Company: Libra Project

Based: Masdar City, ADGM, London and Delaware

Launch year: 2017

Size: A team of 12 with six employed full-time

Sector: Renewable energy

Funding: $500,000 in Series A funding from family and friends in 2018. A Series B round looking to raise $1.5m is now live.

BANGLADESH SQUAD

Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan (vice captain), Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahaman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

Which honey takes your fancy?

Al Ghaf Honey

The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year

Sidr Honey

The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest

Samar Honey

The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20S%20Frederick%20Starr%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Oxford%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20290%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2024%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates 

 

Captain Marvel

Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law,  Ben Mendelsohn

4/5 stars

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg

Roma 4
Milner (15' OG), Dzeko (52'), Nainggolan (86', 90 4')

Liverpool 2
Mane (9'), Wijnaldum (25')

Top financial tips for graduates

Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:

1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.

2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.

3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.

4. Pay yourself first: The minute you receive any income, put about 15 per cent aside into a savings account you won’t touch, to go towards your emergency fund or to start investing. I do 20 per cent. It helped me start saving immediately.

Updated: July 21, 2022, 3:01 PM