Corruption, human trafficking and UK borders

The UK’s new government, both like its predecessor and many other governments around the world, is faced with the challenge of controlling its borders. What role, if any, does corruption play as an enabler of illegal immigration and human trafficking into the UK? \nCorruption research – both theoretical and empirical - suggests that borders are at extremely high risk for corruption. But there is a paucity of data and the UK’s institutional response has been weak. Given the high political profile of illegal immigration in the UK and \nelsewhere, it is a conundrum that so little attention has been paid to working out how far corruption is a problem, and how to reduce it.<p></p>