UK immigration officers charged with stealing from small-boat illegal migrants

Five British immigration officers appeared in court on Thursday charged with misconduct in public office and conspiracy to steal from illegal migrants who had arrived in Britain on small boats.

John Bernthal, 53, Ben Edwardes, 45, Lee-Ann Evanson, 42, Besmir Matera, 36, and Jack Mitchell, 33, are charged with stealing from illegal migrants between August 2021 and November 2022. All five are also charged with one count of misconduct in public office and one count of money laundering.

They sat in the dock at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court as prosecutor Rosalind Earis said the five worked on Britain's south coast, "dealing with recent arrivals on small boats across the Channel".

The crossings of small boats carrying illegal migrants from France, the most visible sign of arrivals, have become a focal point for British voters and has helped propel Nigel Farage's anti-immigration Reform UK party into a commanding opinion poll lead.