BBC News
Scenes of hundreds of migrants in Calais trying to board lorries to the UK during a strike were "totally unacceptable", PM David Cameron says.
Ministers said a "significant number" of would-be migrants had been stopped during the French ferry worker strike.
Mr Cameron told MPs it was important to work with France to tackle the problem and warned against "either side trying to point the finger of blame".
Cross-Channel transport is returning to normal although there are delays.
The prime minister said more needed to be done to tackle the issue of migrants trying to cross the channel to the UK, but the strike had played a "key role" in Tuesday's events.
He said the UK government wanted to see better documentation of migrants coming into Europe via the Mediterranean.
He added ministers needed to act to:
- Ensure better security at Calais, in co-operation with French authorities
- Work with European partners to stop the problem "at source", breaking the link between travelling to Europe by boat and "getting settlement" in Europe
- Make sure Britain is a "less easy place for illegal migrants to come to and work in"
Home Secretary Theresa May, meanwhile, said the UK Border Force had put in place "tried and tested" contingency plans.
She said: "Despite the extra pressure caused by the French strikers, Border Force maintained border security by following plans to put additional staff in place to search freight vehicles passing through the affected ports."
Shadow immigration minister David Hanson said he wanted to know what the government was doing to "put pressure on the French to deal with the situation in Calais".
Later, the government is expected to announce a new taskforce to tackle organised immigration crime in the Mediterranean. Many of the migrants at Calais are believed to have crossed the Mediterranean in boats run by people traffickers.
On Tuesday, Eurostar tweeted that a fire caused by striking ferry workers had damaged the track, leading to all trains being cancelled.
It says services are now running on time, and passengers whose trains did not run are being asked to exchange their tickets - though all trains due to leave London on Wednesday are now fully booked.
Eurotunnel, which manages the Channel Tunnel and runs car-carrying trains, says services are now "operating to schedule".
Spokesman John Keefe said every truck entering on the French side was being searched for migrants.
Ferry services have also resumed, though there are some delays.
The M20 in Kent is closed coast-bound between Junctions 8 and 9 as part of Operation Stack, where parts of the motorway are used to create a queue for lorries travelling towards the continent.
HGV driver Andy Wilson, who was stuck on the UK side of the Channel on Tuesday, told the BBC said his working day was "virtually destroyed".
He added: "There's been various times I've been parked in Calais and woke up in the morning, gone to check my vehicle like I normally do, and found out that there's about three or four people in the back and you've just got to say 'out'.
"When you're driving in toward Calais there's hundreds of migrants just waiting for you to stop."
Asked if there would be deaths, he said: "Without a doubt."
One migrant at Calais, Moaz, said life in France was "difficult" and he believed he could get a home in England "very quickly".
A Sudanese man told the BBC he had heard Britain would not "leave you" to live in a camp like the one he lives in near Calais port.
"They will receive you with food… house, then after that you will get a chance to ask for asylum," he said.
About 3,000 migrants are estimated to be living rough around Calais, waiting for a chance to cross the Channel.
On Tuesday Philippe Mignonet, a deputy to the mayor of Calais, said French people were "fed up" and Britain must "take responsibility" for policing its borders.
"You're on an island and you can't see that it's your problem to deal with your security. I'm sorry to say so - it's your security," he told the BBC.
The Home Office says about 19,000 attempts to cross the Channel have been prevented so far this year, more than double the number during the same period last year.
The new Mediterranean taskforce to be announced later is a 90-strong law enforcement team including staff from the Border Force, the National Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service.
A handful will be based with Europol in Sicily and the Hague, in the Netherlands, with most on deployment standby in the UK.
The UK had already announced extra security measures at ports in northern France and Belgium, where UK Border Force staff work alongside national authorities.
The measures include:
- a £2m upgrade of detection technology
- £1m extra for dog searches
- £12m over three years into a joint fund with France for security at Calais port
- new fencing in Calais to "enhance security at the port and help protect traffic on the road leading to it"
No comments:
Post a Comment