Doofus Of The Day #249 Revisited

At the beginning of the month, our Doofus Of The Day #249 title was awarded to a busload of British immigration officials, who allowed an illegal immigrant to stow away on their bus while returning from France to England. He made a successful getaway, and has not yet been found.

Now it appears that he may not have been alone - and that this may have been going on for a considerable time.

A coach used by Border Agency workers to commute to France could have provided a route for hundreds of illegal immigrants into Britain.

A stowaway was seen fleeing from the coach in Folkestone, Kent, at the end of last month, in what appeared to be a one-off incident.

But a source close to the Border Agency has told the Mail this was just the tip of the iceberg, calling the coach a 'magnet for illegals' trying to sneak into the UK.

The authorities have since discovered two overlooked hiding places either side of the coach's fuel tanks, where up to four stowaways can ride at a time.

And because its passengers are immigration officials, the vehicle is routinely waved through border checks.

It follows a predictable route and timetable and stands out as it is virtually the only coach without markings.

It is understood that the Border Agency specified the vehicle should have no logos to prevent identification, but this has had the opposite effect.

Since last month's incident, three more illegals have been caught trying to hide on the coach in France.

And when it was later parked in a 'secure' spot within Channel Tunnel land to deter stowaways, two more illegals were arrested breaking into the area to reach it.

However, the source suggested the practice could have been going on undetected for years.

The coach has been ferrying border officers between Folkestone and Coquelles, at the Channel Tunnel entrance near Calais, for 365 days a year since 2006.

. . .

The source continued: 'I would not be surprised if the immigration service coach and its secret hiding place had been common knowledge among illegals for years.

'The driver has said he's seen illegals by the side of the road waving at him and giving him the thumbs up for months. Only now do we know why.'

There's more at the link.

I imagine there are some rather red faces in British officialdom right now - or, at least, there should be! There may be hundreds, perhaps thousands, of illegal immigrants in England, who got there under the noses - if not with the unwitting co-operation - of that nation's own security services!

Let's not hire them to police our border with Mexico, OK?



Peter