Nigel Farage wants to check every car entering the UK for hiding immigrants

The Ukip leader said Britain needed to 'send a message' abroad

Nigel Farage during the election campaign (Getty)

Every single car that comes into Britain must be screened to make sure there are no immigrants hiding in it, Nigel Farage has said.

The Ukip leader told LBC radio this morning that slower travel between the UK and the continent would be a price worth paying if the measure reduced undocumented migration.

Mr Farage was speaking as traffic disruption in the French port of Calais led to a surge of migrants trying to enter the UK by stowing away in vehicles.

“I think we’re going to have to find a way that every car that comes back into the United Kingdom is going to somehow be screened,” he said.

“If that means it’s a bit slower … then so be it. We’ve got to get tougher.”

Under guidance issued by the UK Border Force last year, drivers are responsible for securing their vehicles from migrants and face a fine of up to £2,000 for each person they carry.

Officials currently carry out spot checks on vehicles.

Mr Farage also said the UK needed to send out a “stronger message” abroad that people who arrived in the UK against the law would not be able to work.

“The United Kingdom needs to send a clearer message about illegal immigrants,” he said.

“They know they can come to Britian, work in the black market – they’re unlikely to get caught – and if they are caught, it’s very unlikely they’ll be sent back.”

The Government says border control at Calais is the responsibility of the French authorities.

Lord Bates, a Home Office minister, told peers: “The maintenance of law and order on French soil is, of course, a matter for French Government, but it is in the UK's interest to work with them to bolster security at the port,”

The deputy mayor of Calais, Philippe Mignonet, has suggested that the border for entry to the UK should be moved from northern France to Britain.

There are now believed to be around 3,000 migrants camping in Calais, with about 2,000 refugees from conflict zones in Eritrea, Syria and Afghanistan likely to arrive in the next few months.