THE immigration and borders watchdog is to examine how effective the Home Office has been in deterring illegal immigrants amid continuing concern among MPs over the chaotic scenes at the French port of Calais.
David Bolt, the Independent Chief Inspector for Borders and Immigration, said he would be looking at how successful the British government had been in its declared aim of creating a "hostile environment" for illegal migrants through penalties and prosecutions.
Setting out his inspection plan for the year ahead, Mr Bolt said that he would also be scrutinising the way intelligence was used by the Home Office in its efforts to stem the flow of illegal entrants.
"'The effective and efficient working of the UK's border and immigration functions continues to be of great interest to those responsible for delivering these functions, to parliament, and to the public, not least because we are all touched by them," he said.
The move comes as ministers are considering sending more border officials and sniffer dog teams to Calais in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the mayhem of recent days after strike action by French ferry workers closed the Channel Tunnel.
Hundreds of migrants camping near the port took advantage of the ensuing disruption to try to clamber aboard lorries and trucks heading for the UK as the French police were overwhelmed.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has described what happened as "totally unacceptable" and called for the French and British authorities to work together, insisting there was "no point either side trying to point the finger of blame".
As the situation began to return to normal, police in Kent lifted emergency restrictions on the M20 which saw part of the motorway closed to all traffic except lorries heading for the Channel.
However, with French unions threatening further industrial action, the authorities are braced for more disruption over the summer.
It comes as migrant numbers camped around the port have swollen to more than 3,000 with aid workers warning they could rise by another 2,000, as people continue to flee from the war-torn countries such as Eritrea, Syria and Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the transport minister has accused France of giving in to political pressure, claiming they need a Thatcher-like figure to resolve the problem.
Robert Goodwill told The Times: "That's what happens when you have a left-wing government that may be very close to the trades unions. That gives the trades unions a sort of feeling that, 'well, we might be able to get what we want through industrial action'."
