Border chaos to blame for letting Alice Gross killer into Britain, say MPs

A DAMNING new report has blamed Home Office failings for allowing hundreds of foreign criminals into the UK – including the Latvian builder responsible for the murder of schoolgirl Alice Gross.

Alice Gross and Arnis ZalkansPA • GETTY

Arnis Zalkalns, a 41-year-old labourer, served seven years in jail in Latvia for murdering his wife

A leading committee of MPs has warned that there are now some 760 foreign convicts, including rapists and killers, on the run in Britain. 

According to the group of senior lawmakers, criminals are slipping into Britain because of "inadequate" information passed on to border police.

MPs argue that a lack of up-to-date information has allowed dangerous criminals – including the killer of 14-year-old Alice from west London – to cross into the UK unhindered. 

Arnis Zalkalns, a 41-year-old labourer, served seven years in jail in Latvia for murdering his wife and burying her in a shallow grave.

However, he was able to move to the UK in 2007 where he killed again – murdering schoolgirl Alice last year before dumping her body in a river and later committing suicide.

MPs also claim the Home Office IT system is not fit for purpose, making it harder for officials to keep track of foreign criminals.

The Commons’ Home Affairs committee argues that officers fail to carry out criminal record checks on a third of foreigners arrested in the UK.

Citing recent criminal cases involving foreign offenders, including the savage attack on university professor Paul Kohler by Polish thugs, MPs warned that there were “many dangerous people" in Britain but the authorities don't know who is at risk because of "the failure to do even basic and routine checks".

One third of foreign nationals arrested in the UK do not have their criminal records checked

Keith Vaz, Home Affairs committee chairman

Mr Kohler was left with shocking injuries after being savagely beaten by the eastern European group at his home in Wimbledon, south-west London, last year.

The gang were later found to be career criminals with a long history of violent attacks in their native country.

Today’s report, entitled The Work Of The Immigration Directorates Calais, warns: "The Home Office, the police and Border Force are clearly reliant on access to timely information to enable them to intervene when criminals attempt to enter the UK.

"The murder of Alice Gross and the violence inflicted on Professor Paul Kohler show that such reliance is inadequate."

Committee chairman Keith Vaz said: "It is astonishing that even though we have these databases and the capacity to check every single person who is a foreign national and arrested in this country, it is only used in 67 per cent of cases.

"That means that one third of foreign nationals arrested in the UK do not have their criminal records checked.

"This is a lost opportunity to deal with people with a criminal past."

The report also states that the 15-year-old Warning Index system used by UK border staff to identify terrorists and criminals is "considerably overdue to be renewed".

A Home Office spokesman said: "Foreign criminals and terrorists have no place in the UK and this Government is using every resource available to root them out and protect the British public.

"Police criminal records checks on EU nationals have gone up over 700 per cent under this Government, with just over 60,000 requests made to European partners in 2014.

"We already have an outstanding system of public protection that is rightly held up as an example across the world but we are not complacent.

"We are leading the way in Europe to improve the exchange of information in cases involving dangerous criminals."

The Home Office is coming under additional fire after it emerged that most drivers at Eurotunnel’s Folkestone terminal will avoid new exit checks when they come into force next month.

Border officials will only conduct limited screening of passengers leaving the UK in an effort to avoid long tailbacks of cars waiting to board cross-channel trains. 

Exit checks were abandoned in 1998 to save the £3m a year cost.

However, Home Secretary Theresa May is brining back the checks  from April 8. 

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