Hundreds of migrants who arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel on small boats have gone missing after absconding from their hotels, The Mail on Sunday has been told.
As the total number of boat migrants passed 10,500 this year – 2,000 more than the 8,417 who arrived in the whole of 2020 – sources said that Ministers had held urgent discussions between departments over the ‘tracking’ systems in place to monitor their movements after they arrive
A further 1,500 migrants are massing around Calais and Dunkirk waiting for an improvement in the weather before they try to reach Britain.
A Government source said: ‘There is growing consternation across Government about how many are coming here – and where they all are going. Nerves are fraying on this.’
After they arrive here, the migrants are put into hotels, where they are supposed to quarantine for ten days before being processed. Up to 10,000 hotel beds around the country are now taken up by the arrivals, with hotels block-booked by the Home Office until January to house them.
This newspaper revealed last week how dozens of asylum seekers are being housed in a hotel in one of London’s most upmarket postcodes where they are allowed to come and go as they please.
The Best Western Kensington Olympia, a short walk from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s residence, Kensington Palace, has been closed to paying customers and is putting up 55 migrants – in some cases for up to nine months.
Residents are given key cards to access the building, where the rooms are equipped with wi-fi, air conditioning and flatscreen televisions.
The French government is under growing pressure to set up a joint maritime brigade to turn back the migrants.
French President Emmanuel Macron has so far refused British offers of joint sea forces to stop and return migrant boats to France, with his officials claiming that maritime law dictates their vessels can stop the migrants’ boats only if they seek help or need rescuing.
The British dispute this, saying the rules of the sea allow the interception of ‘illegal’ attempts to enter UK waters.Britain has given France an extra £54 million to double the number of police on beaches to 200 officers and boost surveillance.
A Home Office spokesperson said: 'If an asylum seeker person absconds before a decision is made on their claim, or if they fail to comply with our processes, their asylum claim can be withdrawn.
'We have a dedicated national absconder tracing team working with the police, other government agencies and commercial companies to track down and bring absconders back into contact with the Home Office.
'The asylum system is being exploited by criminal gangs who facilitate dangerous, unnecessary and illegal small boat crossings.
'Newly-arrived migrants at hotels are treated as they would be at other facilities, and are expected to comply with Covid regulations including a 10 day self-isolation period. There is 24/7 security at all hotels.'