Migrant seized every SIX MINUTES: Yet more evidence of Britain’s border security shambles

BRAZEN migrants have been caught trying to sneak into Britain at the rate of one every six minutes, the Daily Express can reveal today from official figures.

Latest Government statistics — finally released to us after weeks of urging — show there were 84,088 detentions at the UK border on the continent last year.

The figure, released to us in a Freedom of Information request, shows a massive rise from the previous year and does not include the estimated tens of thousands who will have managed to make it in to the country illegally.

The damning statistic provides perfection ammunition to the Vote Leave camp less than a fortnight before the historic EU Referendum with campaigners saying the only way to regain control of our borders is to leave the EU project. 

The illegal migrant detention rate — equivalent to 230 a day or 10 an hour — is more than double the number seized in 2014.

Senior politicians described the data as “truly shocking” as even Home Secretary Theresa May admitted the crisis “shows no sign of easing”.

Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith said: “These shocking figures show our ability to secure our own borders is collapsing. This is a direct consequence of the EU’s obsession with freedom of movement and insistence on an open border policy. 

“Migration is soaring and the EU has comprehensively failed to deal with the crisis. This now threatens the UK’s security.”

The previously unseen information details the number of failed attempts by illegal migrants to bypass border security.

It is thought the majority tried in Calais, the frontline in the fight against illegal immigration, but figures include “clandestine entry attempts” through Dunkirk and Eurotunnel terminals in Coquelles, Brussels, Lille and Paris.

However, the true scale of the crisis could be far greater as the statistics relate only to those detected. 

The astonishing frequency of cross-Channel smuggling attempts confirms how the threat has rocketed as the European refugee crisis intensifies.

Conservative MP Stewart Jackson said: “These figures are truly appalling and show it’s obvious to most people we are failing to do what is necessary to protect our borders and coastline from illegal immigration and we need urgently to address the matter. It’s no wonder the Home Office have tried to hide this information until after the EU Referendum.”

Britain’s threadbare border defences are now a major security concern with an estimate 20,000 economic migrants waiting to slip into the UK from northern France. 

On Tuesday Border Force intercepted three Iranian nationals trying to cross the Channel in a small boat. A week earlier 18 Albanians were plucked from the sea off Dymchurch, Kent.

Ukip MEP and migration spokesman Steven Woolfe said: “These figures illustrate in very stark terms the scale of the migrant crisis our country faces. 

“The failure of the EU to control its external borders has seen tens of thousands of illegal migrants attempt to gain access to Britain. 

“Our government has continually failed to take border security seriously. Worryingly, these numbers do not include those who have been successful in gaining illegal entry into Britain – of which we simply do not know how many there have been. 

“The figures should bring to the forefront of our minds the very real risks of remaining in a borderless EU. The best way of making sure we can control who comes and goes at our ports is to run our own migration policy. To do that we must leave the EU.”

Our request to the Home Office for the release of the data started on March 24 when we demanded to know how many attempts to enter the UK illegally had been detected at juxtaposed controls.

Our freedom of information request should have been answered in 20 working days. But the department dragged its feet, prompting a furious reaction from MPs. 

We were finally handed the information this week, although the Home Office refused to reveal the number caught trying to enter the UK on forged documents.

The damning dossier shows the number of unsuccessful stowaway attempts has risen fivefold since 2013 when 16,008 migrants were seized. In 2010 the figure was just 8,517. Between January and March this year there were 9,946 attempts, or 110 a day. 

Former Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: “These figures are truly shocking. The Daily Express has revealed the migration crisis is already at Britain’s gates and that our current border force, although they do their best, are woefully under-equipped to deal with pressure on this scale. 

“If 84,000 were caught last year, how many got through? We don’t know who they are, and we don’t know what their intentions are. If Britain cannot protect its borders, then she cannot protect her citizens. In two weeks, every one of us has a duty to say no the political failures of the European Union, say no to uncontrolled migration and vote to leave.”

Ms May said: “The situation in northern France is a symptom of a wider international crisis, a crisis that shows no sign of easing in the short term. So it is important we redouble our joint efforts to protect our border, move migrants in the region into more suitable facilities in France, and return those not in need of protection to their home countries.

“The Government has already invested tens of millions of pounds to bolster security at the ports in northern France, and the UK and French governments have been working at pace to implement actions agreed in the joint declaration last August. Security at the Calais port and around the Eurotunnel site has improved significantly as a result.”

Last week this newspaper laid bare the extent of the crisis on our doorstep. 

Every beach along the 200-mile stretch of coast between Dunkirk and Cherbourg is seen a potential launchpad to the UK for migrants charged as little as £100 by human trafficking gangs.