Latest news with #IDcards
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Jersey ID card scheme for French day-trippers criticised
Jersey's ID scheme for French day-trippers risks opening a "dangerous backdoor" into the UK, the shadow home secretary Chris Philp has last week unanimously agreed to continue the scheme which allows French day-trippers to visit Jersey using their national ID cards rather than a Affairs Minister Deputy Mart Le Hegarat said she had been sent a letter by her UK counterparts outlining concerns. The BBC has requested a copy of the Home Office said: "Crown dependencies are self-governing, with their own immigration requirements which we cannot comment on." Philp said the ID scheme was a "glaring loophole" in the Common Travel Area and "undermined our national immigration rules"."Allowing entry on ID cards rather than passports risks opening a dangerous backdoor into the UK," he said."The government's job is to keep our borders secure."Ministers must urgently set out what safeguards are in place to prevent abuse and ensure this policy isn't exploited as a route into mainland Britain without proper checks." 'Right safeguards' Le Hegarat said Jersey officials had had "ongoing formal engagement on this matter with the UK government since 2023"."Now that we have a clear mandate from the assembly, I will continue this engagement with UK ministers and ensure we can continue to operate the scheme with the right safeguards in place," she said."Until those discussions progress, I'm not in a position to comment further."Guernsey is yet to make a decision on whether to continue its ID card scheme for French visitors but the BBC understands the island's Committee for Home Affairs is considering an extension.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Illegal immigration is turning us into a lockdown society
The mild weather has, we are told, exacerbated the problem of small boats crossing the English Channel. The pledge to 'smash the gangs' is no longer being repeated endlessly by Labour spokespeople (perhaps the recent sunny weather distracted Border Force?) But fear not. The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has a plan. She thinks a gigantic governmental IT project is what is now needed to get a grip on the explosion in immigration. Whenever politicians run out of road in trying to solve a problem, it's never long before the introduction of ID cards rears its ugly head. One might say this is an exercise using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but that would be unfair. The issues at stake tend to be rather bigger than nuts – terrorism, mass uncontrolled immigration, widespread welfare fraud and the like. No, it's more like wildly swinging a sledgehammer in an idiotic attempt to repair a window. The way ID schemes work is to split the population into two cohorts – one which is entitled to something and one which isn't. You want to visit your local GP? You'd better whip out your digital ID card to do so. A police officer doesn't like the cut of your jib and wonders if you should be in the UK at all? You'd be advised to have data on hand to prove your citizenship. Three problems immediately emerge. First, the law-abiding majority are obliged to undertake an ever-increasing number of checks and tests to go about their ordinary lives. Second, it assumes that the people you want to collar are not adept at melting into the black market economy. How many employers are hiring large numbers of illegal immigrants unknowingly and were genuinely just about to get round to making sure they all had the right to work here? None. Third, it relies on the state actually operating a complex IT system successfully. We have surely learnt over recent years that in the vast number of ways the government is able to waste huge tranches of taxpayers' money, botched IT projects are probably top of the list. You can bank on a new digital ID system to break, be littered with errors or both. Ronald Reagan's old dictum – 'there are no easy solutions, but there are simple solutions' – is typically honoured in the breach. The Home Secretary is overreaching for a solution which is difficult and complex but – she is hoping – avoids being especially controversial. Instead, to tackle the immigration disaster, we need to get back to basics. The vast numbers of people coming to our shores are doing so because enforcement is weak, the legal system is soft and the incentives to come here are too great. If you are unwilling or unable to deal with those root causes, there is no database – however magical you may imagine it to be – that will be of much assistance. The reason we have failed to deport many undesirables is not because we are sitting across a desk from them and can't identify who they are or what they are entitled to. Rather it's because our asylum system works at a snail's pace, allows fatuous appeals under human rights legislation, and the package of goodies you receive while you are here is too good to resist. We need to speed up the system so claims take eighteen days (or, ideally, eighteen hours) to process rather than eighteen months. We must ensure that your child's preference for British-made chicken nuggets is not an admissible basis for resisting deportation. We have to find a more robust way of policing the English Channel. None of these are easy to achieve, but they are simple to grasp. Instead, the political elite – this time in the form of Yvette Cooper – prefers to rush down the rabbit hole of believing a flashy computerised system is the answer to our prayers. It probably won't happen. It certainly won't work.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
ID card scheme for French day-trippers to continue
Politicians have voted unanimously to continue a scheme which allows French day-trippers to visit Jersey using ID cards, rather than ID card scheme was introduced in 2023 when the number of day trip visitors dropped after Brexit because rules meant visitors needed the scheme being in place for two years, there has been uncertainty about its future due the UK introducing electronic travel authorisation for Sir Philip Bailhache, who brought forward the proposition, said "many French citizens do not possess a passport and rely upon their identity cards". Mr Bailhache has welcomed the States decision to continue the said: "I'm delighted that the assembly has agreed that the home affairs ministers should consider the concession in force and it will be of great assistance to our tourism industry."He added the decision was important because French day trippers had given a boost to the tourist economy."The estimate is that French day-trippers spend about £4.5m a year in Jersey, so this is clearly good for our restaurants and shop keepers," he added. Home affairs minister deputy Mary Le Hegarat said she supported the proposition but warned counterparts in the UK were not supportive of the scheme continuing."We have had a letter which basically says they are not supportive of it, but for us it is about balance," she Le Hegarat added: "We will be speaking to the UK again about the matter in person, I will go with the external relations minister so we can have those discussions about Jersey's economy and our tourist industry and how we move forward, because it is important we do that."It's critical for us to manage our economy and I'm hoping that the UK can see the evidence from the years we have been running this that it works well and it's not a risk to the borders and safety."In her ministerial comments on the proposition the minister said if the UK had concerns about the scheme which Jersey was unable to mitigate, it could lead "in a worst case scenario, which is considered unlikely, in the implementation of a hard border between the UK and Jersey."The BBC has approached the UK Government for comment.
