It comes after a series of Express reports exposed how foreign and wanted criminals have been able to enter the UK and try to evade justice here.
Richard Tice asked Yvette Cooper about border controls in connection with criminals (Image: Getty)
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has refused to say what the Home Office is doing to stop foreign convicted criminals slipping through UK border checks.
Former Reform UK leader Richard Tice asked for assurances with a written Parliamentary question.
It comes after a series of Express reports exposed how foreign and wanted criminals have been able to enter the UK and try to evade justice here.
Mr Tice asked Home Secretary Yvette Cooper: “What steps she is taking to ensure the adequacy of border checks in the context of criminality rules for applications for entry clearance; and what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of border security measures.”
Ms Cooper did not answer the question and left it to Home Office Minister Seema Malhotra to respond.
Cooper has been member of parliament for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley since 1997 (Image: Getty)
A written response just set out what the existing measures are.
She said: “Arriving passengers are examined by Border Force and checked against Home Office systems before being allowed into the UK. The system is used by Home Office staff for the purposes of national security and the detection and prevention of crime.”
She the dodged revealing what if anything was being done, adding: “It is longstanding policy not to discuss either the specific data held; the source of the data, nor how it is used, as to do so would be counterproductive and not in the public interest.”
She went on to add: “We have been clear that we will strengthen our border security. Resources are being redeployed to go after the organised criminal gangs who undermine our border security and put lives at risk in small boats.
“Our new Border Security Command will strengthen our global partnerships and enhance our efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute those who are facilitating the small boat crossings. The threats we face span geographic boundaries, and we will work closer with international partners, further developing the positive relationships already built by this Government.”
In July, Express.co.uk revealed how several convicted and alleged top-tier criminals from across eastern Europe, including those wanted in connection with contract killings and drug trafficking, were able to get into the UK.
And earlier this month, the Express told how an Afghan migrant wanted in connection with a murder in Germany had also made it into the UK, before being arrested.
