An Express reporter has spoken of the shocking moment he and his colleagues came under attack inside a migrant camp in northern France. Investigations editor Zak Garner-Purkis was confronting human traffickers when things turned nasty. He told the Daily Expresso podcast: 'We were being warned repeatedly: They're going to smash your camera. They were throwing rocks at us, a mango, a can of coke. It was intimidation.'
Zak and his team were in France working on an exposé that was published on Sunday. They revealed how migrants expelled from EU countries head for the UK on small boats as they believe they will be granted asylum in the UK.
Migrant Threats and Criminal Intent
One Iranian national told this publication he would commit violent crimes in the UK and would head here as the Dublin Regulation no longer applies to this country. Known as 'Dublin III', the regulation determines which country is responsible for processing an asylum claim, with precedence applied to the country where the claimant first arrived and family reunion. The policy no longer applies to the UK.
The Iranian man told the Express: '[I'm coming to the UK to be in a] gang to sell drugs, fight, you know, stab [and] shoot.' He said he spent 29 years in Denmark and has a criminal record, but 'England can't see that' so the British authorities cannot deport him.
Traffickers Operating in Plain Sight
Further revelations from the investigation included traffickers operating in plain sight before French authorities. A fixer for the traffickers struck a deal with the Express's undercover reporter to attempt a Channel crossing. They were metres away from a French police van when the £1,500 agreement was cut.
The Home Office said foreign criminals trying to cross the Channel by small boat waste their time and money. A spokesperson said all small boat arrivals go through 'robust' security checks against international data and criminal databases.
