THE porous nature of our borders is becoming an increasingly important political topic. Brexit was partly about taking back control of who was allowed into our country and Reform UK did so well at the last election – certainly in terms of votes cast if not seats won – by making capital out of how many people were illegally making it into this country.

Just how porous our borders are was revealed yesterday at Teesside Crown Court.

French national Edwin Taha was deported in January 2023 after serving a sentence for his part in the death of Luke Jobson, who died after being chased by a gang through Yarm in 2019.

Yet just months after his deportation, Taha had slipped back into this country, was back on Teesside and was back dealing in drugs to fund his lifestyle.

When holidaymakers return to this country, they queue sometimes for hours to have their passports checked, but it seems that convicted criminals, who have been booted out once, can wander into the country whenever they want to.

There is little point in Sir Keir Starmer spending millions of pounds to “stop the boats” when there is a wide open back door through which undesirables like Taha can sneak.

Even when Taha was convicted of possession of cocaine on Merseyside in August 2023, he was still allowed to remain here, despite his deportation order. Now, having been arrested in Hartlepool with £10,000-worth of cocaine and several weapons, it is British taxpayers who is going to pay for his five-year prison sentence even though he was kicked out of their country only 18 months ago.

Little wonder the public are turning to populists like Nigel Farage to take control of the country’s borders when our existing systems are so obviously failing.