UK Borders Bill

moved Amendment No. 1: 1: Before Clause 1, insert the following new Clause— ““Establishment of UK Border Police Force (1) There shall be a body corporate to be known as the UK Border Police Force. (2) The UK Border Police Force shall have the functions of— (a) detecting and removing illegal overstayers; (b) protecting UK borders; (c) investigating employers of illegal immigrants; (d) preventing and detecting human trafficking; and (e) such other functions as the Secretary of State may by order determine. (3) Membership of the UK Border Police Force shall be comprised of officers from— (a) the Immigration Service; (b) HM Revenue and Customs; (c) the Serious Organised Crime Agency; (d) specialist port police forces; (e) the Metropolitan Police Security Command; (f) the Security Services; and (g) such other organisations as the Secretary of State shall by order determine. (4) Before making an order under subsection (2)(e) the Secretary of State shall— (a) publish proposals; (b) consult members of the public and stakeholders; and (c) lay a draft before each House of Parliament. (5) Bodies to be consulted under subsection (4)(b) shall include— (a) the Metropolitan Police Commissioner; (b) representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers; (c) the Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate; (d) representatives of the Serious Organised Crime Agency; (e) representatives of the Association of Police Authorities; and (f) such other people as the Secretary of State shall determine.”” The noble Baroness said: My Lords, moving seamlessly on, as one does in this place, and in taking over the burden of this Bill from my noble friend Lady Anelay, I do so knowing that much of it has already been discussed. I have tabled these amendments, which were also moved in Committee, to give myself the opportunity of setting out the policies that we have supported on the proposed UK Border Police Force and to explain why we on these Benches do not believe that the Government’s proposals come anywhere near close to meeting the challenges that need to be met. The Prime Minister, at his party’s conference, referred to the Government’s intentions in this area. The little he said showed that the new unified border force is new only in uniform. We on these Benches welcome the increased pressure on the immigration agencies to make sure that their efforts are co-ordinated and co-operative, but I am concerned that the Government appear to rest this new initiative on the success of yet another government computer system. I am sure that there are enough examples of computer systems that have gone wrong for many in this House to share my trepidation. As my noble friend Lady Anelay made clear in Committee, our proposals go much further than the Government are prepared to consider. We would, in essence, create a new, integrated, specialised police service, as has proved successful elsewhere. This is supported by both the previous and current commissioners of the Metropolitan Police and the Home Affairs Committee of another place. As the right honourable David Davis said at the Conservative Party conference, this would give the new force real power: power to stop, search, detain and prosecute not only illegal immigrants but also those who traffick people and those who wish to enter our country in order to attack it. What we have in mind would be a strong and effective measure. In comparison, the Government’s proposals are timid, ineffective and most certainly insufficient to deal with the problem. That is the background. I beg to move.