With all the fuss over the relaxation of the UK Border Agency checking during the summer, I thought I would share some home truths about the United Kingdom border. There isn't one!
The border with Ireland is one of the most open and unchecked in the world.
We have an undefended coastline. Thousands of open miles of coastline, in fact, that anyone can sail into and out of on any vessel, and nobody will bat an eyelid.
How do I know? My dad and a family friend used to sail to France and back during our summer holidays out of a small harbour on the south coast of England. They left at about 5am on a small yacht and spent most of the day travelling across the Channel to various french ports on the Cherbourg peninsula.
After an overnight stop, loading up with wine, and a good hearty breakfast, they would return, usually coming into port in the evening / nighttime.
No-one other than our families ever knew where they were going and their timetable. The small harbour to which I refer has no port authority, police or marine patrol of any kind. The French marinas they used to tie up in hardly cared.
Someone now tell me that across the whole of the south coast that many hundreds, if not thousands of people are not coming in to the UK and disappearing all the time to try and find work / sponge off the state.
The UK Border Agency only acts at ports and airports for incoming aircraft and large ferries and cargo ships. So whats all the fuss about? We have an open border anyway!
If we want to have real border control then I suggest doing it the American way. Arm the Coastguard as much as the Navy, intercept every vessel approaching the coast at least 3 miles out, track and trace all ships in the vicinity of UK waters, and pay hundreds of pounds more of taxes each year to ensure it happens.
Perhaps not, eh?
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