The UK government has spent more than £1bn on contracts for surveillance technology to spot migrants crossing the English Channel.
The Home Office has spent more than £1bn on surveillance technologies, including drones and “near real-time” situational awareness platforms, in the last five years, according to an analysis of procurement data by Tech Monitor that can be found here.
“The UK government has spent more than a billion pounds on surveillance technology in the past five years, including a contract worth up to £1bn on drones to spot migrants crossing the English Channel.”
The expenditure, as highlighted by Tech Monitor, from 2017-2021 is shown below.
| Tekever | £1,000,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Bristow Group | £42,000,000 |
| 2 Excel Aviation Limited | £18,335,427 |
| Kongsberg Norcontrol Limited | £1,984,105 |
| Elbit Systems | £948,257 |
The largest contract was won by Tekever, a Portuguese defence technology company which specialises in unmanned aircraft systems. In 2019, the company was awarded a three-year contract worth up to £1bn by the Home Office “to enhance maritime awareness”.
This contract is set to end on 30 September this year. However, the contract was recently renewed for a period lasting from 1 Oct 2022 to 30 Nov 2022.
Tekever’s UK managing director Paul Webb revealed that the Home Office uses its products for migrant surveillance.
“Every day, dozens of asylum seekers and refugees set off on the dangerous journey across the English Channel to reach British soil, but small boats and treacherous conditions mean many lives are in danger along the way. We are proud to be a partner of UK authorities in fighting this kind of illegal human traffic. Drones can identify humans in distress in a much faster way and help rescue teams”, said Paul Weeb, TEKEVER UK Managing director.
The firm is operating its own AR5 system over the channel, a twin-engine fixed wing UAV designed for maritime surveillance missions. The AR5 can fly for more than 12 hours, and carry multiple payloads, including maritime radars, synthetic aperture radars, day and night cameras and AIS and EPIRB receivers.
The specific payload package used to survey the Channel allows it to “cover vast areas, detecting and recognizing potentially illegal vessels, and then track and identify them, providing the authorities with real time and highly accurate intelligence”.
So says the introduction to the article. What an utter waste of money.
You can spot migrants from a pre-used dinghy with a 100hp outboard. You can use the current taxi service comprising the RNLI and the misnomer outfit called the Border Force, to spot migrants.
🙄😠
This is so we can spot them coming,intercept and turn them round isn’t it? Or is it a heads up so we know how many extra hotels we have to book!😡
That would involve 1 of 2 things.
Invading French national waters to do it and or endangering human life.
Neither of the above 2 points will happen hence its a waste of money having this ability.
This can stop today if the French had the will to stop it! How many boats are intercepted before they cross into international waters? Why is it they cannot ‘ interview’ migrants on the beach’s before they get into the boats find out who they paid their money to and then smash these gangs?
The French do not care as they are leaving them and taking the problem with them. Could stop it if they wanted too but why would they want too and keep the problem with them. We have to STOP the GANGS first and formast. Still a lot of cash going into someones pocket and not forgetting the fortune we tax payers are shelling out accommodating the all too. This years total may preach 50K thats a large town folks and we are paying for it. We are being invaded and can’t see it. STOP ALL BENEFITS for non Brits to… Read more »
No, it would involve removing a hazard from International waters, as an unflagged unregistered vessel messing around in a busy shipping lane has precisely zero rights in International Law – they’re arguably engaging in a form of piracy
Money spent on drone tech for whatever reason is money well spent.
Only if you use the info it provides well to sort and issue out. This has NOT so far in any way.
What I don’t get is why everything is outsourced and to a Portuguese outfit as well (this will be us playing by EU rules). Why doesn’t the home office Buy some of our own equipment and keep it in the country. Buy or build under license some s100’s from Schiebel and build up our capabilities long term. The MOD is the same tons of stuff outsourced by RAF, Army etc and what you get is no better than what you have.
why not do a deal with france , we return all migrants who cross the channel back to france and in exchange we house a similar number of refugees currently living in france.
EU is rubbish thats why. Asylum seekers are meant to apply in first EU ciuntry entered but this has never been enforced.
UK should change its laws and become a transit only country. Then push them ( err facilitate their onward travel ..) into the ROI.
At which point they will just turn around and go back to the U.K. which is where they are trying to get to anyway. As for the EU, the Dublin protocol is an internal agreement, has nothing to do with Third Nations like the U.K.
eu could operate the drones they facilitate the people trafficking
No they don’t, “they” rely on the nation states with their own policies for the most part.
As I said UK transit only so no help to them except onward travel. Bye bye.
But they want to be in the U.K. for various reasons (not least due to the resistance to ID cards making “off book” work easier. Also under international agreements the U.K. can’t do that.
It can. It just needs to exit the International Refugee Convention. And notice countries like Denmark now have a zero tolerance to asylum seekers ( even without exiting the IRC). And IMHO the UK shoulx bring in a national ID card/system.
Th refugee convention applies to people who have a “well founded fear of persecution in their home country for reasons of religion ethnicity etc”
Clearly not Albanians in Anlbania
It never worked when the UK was in the EU either sk lets end the charade of Third Nations etc.
When in the EU the U.K. could if it wanted to move people back to other EU nation, however much like many other areas in the EU the U.K. didn’t bother to go through the process just complained about things. Now the U.K. has no recourse to send people “back to the EU”, they might get a deal with France but that depends on whether it’s in the interests of the French.
Our interests are not nor have they ever been in the interests of the French.
The UK could remove illegal immigrants if it wished however as we are still being overruled by the ECHR which is another shackle that needs removing asap.
For some reason whenever the government discusses this issue the opposition block any movement in this area costing the country many millions more and years again in legal red tape.
Join such notable humanitarian European nations like Russia then? Also rupturing the GFA as well, and for what? The issues the U.K. has for returning migrants are vastly domestic issues, whether it’s lack of national ids that make “off book” situations happen, or PR moves like the Rwanda scheme without adequately planning or resourcing. But fixing them would require time, resources and honesty, like for example the reality that most illegal migrant into the U.K. happens through “overstays” of legal visas rather than the relatively low amount crossing the channel. Its always amusing that it’s someone else’s fault, couldn’t possibly… Read more »
You say “remove” but the key question is “to where?”
Deleted
What’s ironic is that when we were in the EU we were capable of sending them back to their country of arrival as that was part of the rules.
Once we left we also lost the ability to do that.
Another great “benefit” of Brexit 🤦♂️
“Every day, dozens of asylum seekers and refugees set off on the dangerous journey across the English Channel”
Not dangerous enough it seems….
Correct. There is nothing dangerous about crossing a measly 22 miles of water.
Then I would suggest you have never tried to cross it in a small open boat then. It is incredibly difficult and dangerous
Nonsense, 30,000 this year alone found it very easy!
Really, do you have any experience of even inshore navigation. The sea is deadly. I’ve plenty of experience and it’s come close to killing me a a couple of times. Crossing 22 miles of open sea on a dingy is literally the maritime equivalent of trying to walk cross the M25. The only reason we don’t have bodies is the amount of money spent on spotting and rescuing them. I’m not going into the right or wrong of immigration policy, but please don’t make statements like you just did it reduces the debate and debases anything you say on the… Read more »
Seconded. 👍
I will take no lessons from you. 30,000 unwanted migrants crossed very easily this year.
By that logic, anybody who achieves anything does so “very easily”. Put a man on the moon? Very easy. Clone a sheep? Very easy. You’re literally being told by someone with vast experience that it isn’t easy, and you continue to ignore. It’s actually “very easy” to learn, try it
Maybe you try to learn the statistics, facts and evidence that shows 30,000 and counting, have crossed this year alone! A very easy 22 mile crossing.
Honestly if you had a brain, you’d be dangerous. Even the simplest logic eludes you. And as you might guess from my username, facts, evidence and stats go hand in hand with my job.
Ah, there we have it, the first sign of defeat in a discussion is when personal insults surface. How very predictable!😂
Maurius. Im happy to meet you at Dover. I will supply you with a 10ft rubber dinghy and an outboard motor of some sort. Probably under powered and in a poor state of repair. Then happy to see you off on your very easy journey to France mate. Just say the word. We willget this done for you.
Yes but then the British coastguard or Police will stop you there for being stupid! Unlike the French who are just standing waving people off to risk their lives in the ditch!!
And how many of them actually made it all the way to UK beaches, vs how many of them were intercepted and picked up by the Border Force or Coastguard?
Stating that, because 30,000 people got across by either means, it’s easy, is like claiming that climbing Mount Everest is easy, because thousands have managed that.
Who said they are unwanted, my daughter would love to be able to employ some ( hotel industry) as local Brits to lazy to expensive and unreliable.
Well said 👍
Oh right so they suddenly get into peril when they cross UK territorial waters? Utter nonsense. Hundreds of thousands have made the journey all the way from Vietnam to Australia. The Australians tow the boat back to the edge of Indonesian waters, job done.
well since they were not in peril sitting on the french coastline and are most definitely in peril of their lives in a dingy mid channel then the answer is clearly yes they are suddenly in peril.
don’t talk utter Nonsense yourself.
People smugglers seem to do it all the tine…
Indeed, and very easily too!
You should maybe try asking why people are willing to go to such extreme lengths to get to the U.K? For some it’s the language, some it’s family connections, opportunities of employment etc.
The U.K. needs to work out how it can use migrants skills and potential to better the country, economy etc, instead of not allowing them to work stuck in the process for years.
The UK has an immigration policy and related laws. All it needs is proper application and execution of said policy and laws. The current invasion is not sustainable – 30,000 and counting this year alone.
30000 is a trivial number compared to most countries
The numbers are sustainable it’s the process that’s broken. Anyone arriving now will still be in the system in 2 years time average. That’s where the problem is. It’s now come to light that they idiot of a Home Secretary refused to apply the process and move people out of the 24 hour centre in accordance with the law. Now every single person held will need to kept here until all the investigations and parliamentary reviews are done and after all of that will most likely all stay due to her breaching the process. So to sum up in her… Read more »
I think these people should be welcomed kinda. We loat 500,000 migrant workers because of Brexit so 30,000 replacements is a small drop in the ocean of vacant jobs and positions unfilled that are holding back the UK economy.
Exactly what should happening. The process needs overhauled. Aim for 4 weeks in and out. Special cases 3 months. Have special courts if needed.
Questions need to be what skills you got. If they are useful and they can show you the skills they get a 5 year work permit. During that time a permanent resident application can be sorted.
There is in bad weather. Ive been on the channel in rough sea states. You wouldnt want to be in a dinghy with 20 other souls onboard wallowing around in anything more then force 3-4 winds.
Those dinghies used are utter death traps.
And yet crossings continue to be at record levels so clearly drones and all the other measures are having little-no impact whatsoever.
We could have spent that money on trying to break up the criminal gangs that operate along the French coast facilitating these journeys.
That and sorting out our abysmally slow and ineffective asylum process are the only long-term ways of tackling the problem. Deterrence in the channel won’t ever work so long as everyone knows once a small boat leaves French territorial waters it’s our obligation to take them to The UK.
The drones are not there to prevent crossing, its to prevent deaths. Once they are in the channel the only prerogative it to prevent their deaths.
There is a humanitarian aspect to this.
Being a civilised country we try not allow people to drown.
The drones are also valuable fir anti terrorism and ant smuggling operations.
I wonder how many drones and staff we are talking about? It seems a lot of money so I wonder what that buys.
And yet the French another civilised country are quite happy watching people risk their lives!
To be totally fair the French do rescue poor souls in distress in their waters.
If they’re aiding human traffickers by facilitating the unlawful transit of their customers then they’re not fighting human trafficking. They’re sympathetically becoming human traffickers themselves. State sanctioned or not, it’s wrong. If our defence assets are abused then what is the point of even having a military.
What a waste of money is it so they can send in the RNLI taxi service to get them in the country quicker.
There is no deterrent to stop them attempting the crossing. The lefts HR lawyers and various organisations challenge every government move, and it all stalls. The traffickers and the migrants know this. They know they will be put up in a hotel, are unlikely to be deported, as the system is so overwhelmed. Then, no doubt, in time an amnesty will arrive, and the wheel turns again. Some may be terrorists, sympathise with them, or hate our values and way of life ( Gosh is that me being racist again?? Sarcasm if anyone is wondering.) Farouk put a list up… Read more »
The ever expanding population is not just a U.K. issue it’s a world wide issue. Not many want to look at actual numbers control for the future.
I’m not to sure why the process for moving unwelcome people back across the channel is so useless. As far back as I can remember the process for people arriving has been really slow. Maybe it’s always been like that.
The problem is the ECHR. Read about how they blocked the Rwanda programme it’ll be an eye opener. Leave the ECHR and problem solved.
If you think migration is bad now. Wait until you see what it will be like in the 2030s or potentially sooner. When southern Europe heats up and becomes desert and there is nothing but parched dried up river beds and failed crops and forests have all burnt down. 40-50 degrees celsius heat is going to drive migrants up out of southern Europe. UKs population could top 100 million by 2040. Have we got the infrastructure or a plan for 100+ million people. Hell no. Nhs has capacity for a population of around 25-30million not the 68 million now. Schools… Read more »
I is totally agree about the reservoir thing.
Building more capita is a no brainer and Thames Water have, in all fairness to them, tried to get permission for decades.
Emotive topic so I’ll try to stay detached as can. Long while since first debated (hopefully positively) topics of this nature with you so hope all’s well. If lawyers are challenging the government’s actions it means that they have a reasonable believe that what the government is doing goes against UK or International Law, and I’m glad that they challenge the government. The idea that governments (of any political view) should be able potentially break the law going unchallenged sets a scary precedent (perhaps a touch melodramatic but the old “First they came for the…” poem). The traffickers may well… Read more »
Apologies for long old message, it’s just a topic I feel passionate about.
No worries. It’s good we can speak with respect, unlike some.!
There are more Albanian men in UK prisons than in Albanian ones. They aren’t paying tax when they come here.
This is one of the big problems, I do think where our system is not working, it’s about the home office failing, as there is nothing to stop all those individuals being sent home. It is also taking years to process asylum requests, during the request process people are not able to work, end up in hotels and live at the taxpayers expense. If we had an effective system we should: 1) process quickly and remove quickly 2) give the right to work during the process. So they pay their way. This would not only remove the whole hotels issue… Read more »
The problem is this really needs attacking from the root, and that is the people smugglers based in France. Most of the people crossing the channel crossing a are generally completely ignorant of the risks, so I’m not sure deterrent would work for them..Literally the only way you would get me to put my family in a dingy and try to cross the channel would be to put a gun to my children’s heads. These are profoundly ignorant people who just have no idea what a profundity stupid thing they are attempting to do, that type of ignorance can’t really… Read more »
I’m really sorry it’s not going to be popular, but the lack of regard for human life, from some of the comments is really horrible. I’m not talking about the wrong or right of migration. But once these people are on a dingy in the channel ( however they got there) they are in peril of their lives. It’s no place for “a they don’t deserve to be in the U.K” or not discussion, it is at that point about stopping them from drowning. Clearly many here have no understanding of the peril these people are in…and neither do they… Read more »
Record numbers if Albanian blokes coming in. What danger are they under exactly. The system is not fit for purpose and should be abolished. The EU is facilitating hybrid warfare against the UK by not enforcing its own rules….so UK should chsnge its rules and become transit only etc.
Algeria is allegedly very cooperative.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/priti-patel-signs-historic-removals-agreement-with-albania
I think the bigger issues are to do with out system.
I’m not talking of the danger or not of Albania, I’m talking of the danger of being in a dingy in the channel, as I said I’m not making any comment on the right or wrong of immigration, I’m taking about some really inappropriate comments about the danger to life of people in boats, who seem to have “leave them to drown attitude. I have no issue with sending an illegal immigrant from Albania right back to Albania….but I find the let’s just leave them to drown subtext From a a couple of commentators actually disgusting.
How melodramatic!
I also read there is talk of cutting the foreign aid budget. No more hand-outs to those thinking Blighty is an ever-giving money tree. Make it happen!
personally from a purely self centred point of view I think a well managed foreign aid budget is really important to protect and secure British interests…but I suspect things like securing opportunities in developing nations for our companies to invest, develop opportunities in securing resources and raw materials as well as the need to develop new marks is a bit alien to your way of thinking. As are the geopolitical imperatives of preventing the enemies of the west from do the same unhindered…but I’m sure Britain will be fine if the West degrades and the world falls under the hegemonic… Read more »
Episode Two – your sorry saga continues!😆
bless, you really are a sad individual. Do you actually have any really cogent arguments, thoughts or empathy.
Well let’s hope nobody you care about or yourself is ever put in a situation where they require the help of a countries kindness.
Hopefully for your sake if that ever happens they don’t adopt your stance and leave you to die.
If we cant stop illegal immigrants in a dinghy from ‘invading’ our shores, what chance preventing a Russian amphibious assault, or a flotilla of terrorists intent on carnage…
We are allowed to shoot at a Russian amphibious assault, or a flotilla of terrorists and sink their boats/ ships.
Shooting at unarmed civilians is a crime.
dont make me laugh ‘allowed to shoot’ …imagine a scenario [it’s not difficult] where no war has been declared, Putin [or his ilk] make a pre-emptive move [ask any Ukranian if you aren’t aware how that works], where he sends 100s of ‘Special forces’ dressed in ‘civvies’ across the channel … who exactly is ‘shooting’ at them at this point, the RNLI? Further, how many potential ‘terrorists’ have entered the UK already, using these dinghies, and the Home Office have kindly put them in a hotel, until they are ready to attack? [FYI, they aren’t inclined to let the authorities… Read more »
🤣
The answer to that is screening and speeding up the process. It should be a matter of days and weeks. Get them in, processed and out to be returned or helped to start their new life. Current average time for someone arriving today (good person or terrorist) will be years. All the while they have to be kept.
That’s the problem, it’s not the numbers it’s the process. Even if someone arrives knowing they will be turned away they get over a year staying here if not several years.
Absurd scenario.
Let’s go with it, though, and Russian special forces are dressed as civvies and crossing the channel. If they bring any weapons at all then these will be detected when the Border Patrol or Coastguard pick them up – most of these boats are picked up by one of them.
The moment weapons are found they will be arrested. What then? Soldiers without weapons are very limited, even if they’re highly-trained.
As we’ve seen, Russian troops are not highly trained.
At last some common sense here!
Thank you.
This is interesting from BAE
https://techmonitor.ai/technology/emerging-technology/bae-satellite-uk-space
Does anyone have any more details? Will these satellites be taking over drone duties?
I’d not heard of this.
They gave an interesting presentation at Space Comm last month. The Azalea clusters are able to be repositioned, but there are no plans to put a cluster over the UK.
First major project of BAES I can recall where there was no lead customer and it was funded speculatively.
Ah, so MoD have not bought it yet. Ta.
Value for money? Don’t make me laugh.
Drop the Portuguese Contract now , buy Turkish at least they have option of being Armed that should make the Albanians think twice before claiming make believe asylum issues
Sky news last night saying UK ,France could be in agreement over migrants but came a cross as if UK government were to give more money to our so called French friends 🐸
Unbelievable! 1+ Billion ! Suppose the blame will go to a deposed minister. Perhaps Chancellor will look into it ? Worse still the contract went abroad! They kept this very quiet….. Disgusted!!!
I wonder how far would £250 million a year would take us in speeding up the processing of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.
We allow the biased mainstream media to whip up a storm over an illegal party and remove a PM ( I do not vote Tory) and yet these misguided morons ( MPs) waste over a billion pounds plus 5 to 7 million a day unnecessarily on these migrants. What is worse a PM that says do as I say and not as I do or wasting 2 billion quid or more your children and grandchildren will have to pay ? This country needs a government commited to leaving the ECHR.
Pathetic waste of money. They have the ability to cover that stretch with big eyes from land. Meanwhile, they scrapped the other drone projects leaving the Armed Forces lacking and reliant on buying from other nations.
The Turks who up to a few years ago, were not considered any military exporters in any stretch of the imagination, established themselves as the go-to nation for small, cheap, propeller-driven drones.
What have we done?
Everyone needs to under stand that the contract is ‘up to £1bn’…because the contract value will be over a period of years and flexible.
In reality if 1/10th of that has been spent I’d be amazed….
Seems like a waste to me. Surely one of the easiest ways to reduce the number of migrants crossing the Channel and risking their lives would be to enable people to apply for asylum at British Embassies around the world, rather than having to physically being in the UK? At present you physically have to be in the UK, but cannot get on a plane, ferry or Chunnel train if you don’t have a visa. Why not have people apply in the embassies of their respective countries? If successful and found to be a genuine asylum seeker, then they can… Read more »
Never happen because then they would have to declare who they are! At the moment they get here with no papers etc and then claim asylum? How is that even remotely possible if you have no papers and no proof of identity?
I believe Manson has a long runway simply pick them take to Manston put them on a plane and take them back to Albania surely a lot cheaper than £7m a day housing them!
Great we can video our border force doing absolutely bugger all.
I was going to open with…’I am totally speechless’, but I am not really. Hopelessly ridiculous wasting of taxpayer’s money as ever, by … oh who knows.
There probably has been massive squandering and wastage of money here, and this ‘story’ released by whoever, covers it all up in a nice little package
A satellite or two or even 3 or 4 for that matter, would do the job better, quicker, easier etc and soforth.
Mind truly boggled.