Jade
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Border Agency spends millions transporting illegals out of Britain on planes but many take off with empty seats
The UK Border Agency wasted millions of taxpayers' money deporting illegal immigrants back to their native homes.
Figures released show that £8.67million was spent on 37 flights to Afghanistan, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Ghana, Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the past year.
With many immigrants lodging last-minute appeals to stay in Britain that has seen the average cost for each chartered plane nearly £250,000.
A spokesman for the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: 'The UK Border Agency should do more to keep costs down when flying illegal immigrants home. 'If eleventh hour appeals are so common then UKBA should overbook flights even more than they are already to ensure maximum capacity.
'It’s absurd that international agreements about how many people can arrive at the same time are stopping us from deporting those who have no right to be in this country and incurring extra costs for British taxpayers.'
However, the UKBA insisted that it is filling its quota given the number of people that can be deported at any given time.
In February this year they chartered a jet plane to fly back illegal immigrants to Pakistan.
Many of those arrested find legal loopholes to avoid deportation. The operation, which had the Codeword Munroe, saw 194 illegals from that country put on a list to be sent back.Only 50 have returned thus far - 46 men and four women, with 144 still awaiting deportation. That month also saw a flight to Sri Lanka take-off with 52 out of a possible 60 onboard. A staggering 101 Sri Lankans made successful applications at the last minute to stay in the country. In November last year a plane chartered to take people back to Ghana took off with 23 illegal immigrants on board out of a maximum of 30.
Three months later another plane jetted off to the same West African nation with only 21 illegals. The UKBA , which says some flights have twice as many escort guards as actual illegals being returned, tries to keep the planes as full as possible by overbooking them to compensate for any dropouts caused by late appeals.
Somebody who is being deported has to be given 72 hours notice, giving them ample time to put in a fresh appeal against their removal. A UK Border Agency spokesperson told the Mail Online: 'It is right that those with no right to be here should go home and flights of this type still represent the most cost effective way of removing people. 'The increased expenditure on charter flights from the UK reflects the general rise in the cost of air travel since 2004 and a greater number of flights to countries outside Europe.
'The UK Border Agency will remove those with no right to be here and charter flights still represent the most cost effective way of removing large numbers of people.
'An individual can be withdrawn from a charter flight for a number of reasons, including last minute appeals. 'However this does not mean they have been granted leave to remain in the UK. We will continue to pursue their removal at a later date.'
In total, 17 planes have returned people to Afghanistan, nine to Nigeria, four to Sri Lanka, three to Pakistan, two to Ghana and one each to Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Read more: UK Border Agency flights to deport illegals take off with empty seats | Mail Online
There is no mention of India, but Pakistan is mentioned so many time.
Border Agency Clamps Down On Student Visas
The UK Border Agency is increasing the number of face-to-face interviews with Pakistanis hoping to study in Britain after an initial investigation found that many could not speak English.
All Pakistanis will be interviewed as part of measures being trialled to crack down on bogus applications, it has been disclosed.
The new "credibility test" is expected to double the number of visa rejections.
The increased scrutiny has been calculated to boost the refusal rate from 20% to more than 40%, according to a government source.
The move follows a Border Agency pilot scheme conducted in countries such as Bangladesh, India, Egypt, Pakistan and Nigeria.
The news comes just days after the agency was criticised by MPs over its failure to deport foreign criminals .
The pilot scheme findings apparently suggested that a large proportion of would-be student candidates could not speak English well enough to qualify.
The source said using face-to-face interviews instead of the existing paper-based system had been particularly effective in Pakistan, uncovering reasons for rejection in 43% of applications.
Sky News correspondent Niall Paterson said: "On the face on it, this is a very good news story for the Government, a very good news story for the UK Border Agency.
"Complete coincidence of course that this takes place in a week in which the Home Affairs Select Committee released a report which said the UKBA was unable to fill its most basic functions."
Paterson said this story reveals that the UKBA's "checks and balances have not been working in perhaps as many as one in five cases, at least from Pakistan".
The new checks will be piloted initially to gain further evidence about their effectiveness.
The UK Border Agency wasted millions of taxpayers' money deporting illegal immigrants back to their native homes.
Figures released show that £8.67million was spent on 37 flights to Afghanistan, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Ghana, Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the past year.
With many immigrants lodging last-minute appeals to stay in Britain that has seen the average cost for each chartered plane nearly £250,000.
A spokesman for the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: 'The UK Border Agency should do more to keep costs down when flying illegal immigrants home. 'If eleventh hour appeals are so common then UKBA should overbook flights even more than they are already to ensure maximum capacity.
'It’s absurd that international agreements about how many people can arrive at the same time are stopping us from deporting those who have no right to be in this country and incurring extra costs for British taxpayers.'
However, the UKBA insisted that it is filling its quota given the number of people that can be deported at any given time.
In February this year they chartered a jet plane to fly back illegal immigrants to Pakistan.
Many of those arrested find legal loopholes to avoid deportation. The operation, which had the Codeword Munroe, saw 194 illegals from that country put on a list to be sent back.Only 50 have returned thus far - 46 men and four women, with 144 still awaiting deportation. That month also saw a flight to Sri Lanka take-off with 52 out of a possible 60 onboard. A staggering 101 Sri Lankans made successful applications at the last minute to stay in the country. In November last year a plane chartered to take people back to Ghana took off with 23 illegal immigrants on board out of a maximum of 30.
Three months later another plane jetted off to the same West African nation with only 21 illegals. The UKBA , which says some flights have twice as many escort guards as actual illegals being returned, tries to keep the planes as full as possible by overbooking them to compensate for any dropouts caused by late appeals.
Somebody who is being deported has to be given 72 hours notice, giving them ample time to put in a fresh appeal against their removal. A UK Border Agency spokesperson told the Mail Online: 'It is right that those with no right to be here should go home and flights of this type still represent the most cost effective way of removing people. 'The increased expenditure on charter flights from the UK reflects the general rise in the cost of air travel since 2004 and a greater number of flights to countries outside Europe.
'The UK Border Agency will remove those with no right to be here and charter flights still represent the most cost effective way of removing large numbers of people.
'An individual can be withdrawn from a charter flight for a number of reasons, including last minute appeals. 'However this does not mean they have been granted leave to remain in the UK. We will continue to pursue their removal at a later date.'
In total, 17 planes have returned people to Afghanistan, nine to Nigeria, four to Sri Lanka, three to Pakistan, two to Ghana and one each to Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Read more: UK Border Agency flights to deport illegals take off with empty seats | Mail Online
There is no mention of India, but Pakistan is mentioned so many time.
Border Agency Clamps Down On Student Visas
The UK Border Agency is increasing the number of face-to-face interviews with Pakistanis hoping to study in Britain after an initial investigation found that many could not speak English.
All Pakistanis will be interviewed as part of measures being trialled to crack down on bogus applications, it has been disclosed.
The new "credibility test" is expected to double the number of visa rejections.
The increased scrutiny has been calculated to boost the refusal rate from 20% to more than 40%, according to a government source.
The move follows a Border Agency pilot scheme conducted in countries such as Bangladesh, India, Egypt, Pakistan and Nigeria.
The news comes just days after the agency was criticised by MPs over its failure to deport foreign criminals .
The pilot scheme findings apparently suggested that a large proportion of would-be student candidates could not speak English well enough to qualify.
The source said using face-to-face interviews instead of the existing paper-based system had been particularly effective in Pakistan, uncovering reasons for rejection in 43% of applications.
Sky News correspondent Niall Paterson said: "On the face on it, this is a very good news story for the Government, a very good news story for the UK Border Agency.
"Complete coincidence of course that this takes place in a week in which the Home Affairs Select Committee released a report which said the UKBA was unable to fill its most basic functions."
Paterson said this story reveals that the UKBA's "checks and balances have not been working in perhaps as many as one in five cases, at least from Pakistan".
The new checks will be piloted initially to gain further evidence about their effectiveness.