Truckers tell David Cameron to move holiday to Calais to see migrant chaos for himself
Truckers tell David Cameron to move holiday to Calais to see migrant chaos for himself
David Cameron is on holiday as thousands of migrants storm the Channel Tunnel
The Prime Minister has been invited to make a journey across the Channel by the Road Haulage Association after Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond chaired the emergency committee.
It comes as riot police fought desperate migrants pulling down fences and attempting to clamber onto trains destined for the UK.
One officer is in hospital with serious head injuries after he was hit in the face with a stone thrown by a Sudanese man.
The man was arrested and faces criminal charges.
RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said:”Without witnessing the mayhem at Calais first hand, neither the Prime Minister, nor his advisers can fully grasp the severity of the situation.
“I have therefore issued an invitation to David Cameron to travel with him across the Channel to see for himself the appalling conditions that drivers are facing.
“I made the journey five weeks ago and I have been back to Calais today to assess the current situation and to establish for myself the problems facing our drivers.”
Around 1,000 migrants were stopped outside the Tunnel’s security zone and another 700 were found inside it, according to a police source in Calais.
A Downing Street spokesperson confirmed Mr Cameron, who insists he is on top of the Calais crisis, was on holiday and that he would miss the Cobra meeting.
Mr Cameron, who is also due to visit Portugal and Scotland this month, had insisted he would remain “in charge” despite taking three holidays in August.
The scenes in Calais marked the largest group of migrants for a week who tried to storm the Channel Tunnel.
Thousands of migrants tried to get into the Channel Tunnel in a bid to reach the UK today
My town is French, not British
There are continual intrusions into the secure zone surrounding the Tunnel despite 120 extra French police arriving to guard it.
The latest escalation of violence at the French border comes as France announced its plan to cut police in Calais and threatened to “let the migrants through” to the UK.
French politicians have renewed their calls for all of the migrants to be sent straight to Britain, where they will either claim asylum or disappear into the black economy.
Desperate migrants attempt to storm the Tunnel on a daily basis
Natacha Bouchart, the Mayor of Calais, led demands for a renegotiation that would move back the UK border from Calais to Dover.
Calling for asylum camps to be set up in the UK, Ms Bouchart said: “The British are imposing their law on our border.
“My town is French, not British.”
The Treaty of Le Touquet, signed in 2003, allowed UK officials to carry out passport checks and other frontier controls in France.
But former minister Xavier Bertrand agreed with Ms Bouchart that it should be scrapped.
Cameron is on holiday with his family while the migrant crisis continues to escalate
Referring to the Prime Minister, Mr Bertrand said: “Let the migrants go and invite him to conduct whatever policies he wants on his own island.”
Mr Bertrand has continually blamed UK labour laws and the black labour market for the Calais migrant crisis.
There are currently 5,000 illegal migrants sleeping rough in the Calais area, many in the camp known as Jungle II.
Migrants desperate to enter the UK play a daily game of cat-and-mouse with the French police as they try to storm into the Channel Tunnel.
As police figures suggested that as many as seven in ten migrants in Calais may be reaching the UK, Downing Street stressed the figures relating to migrants leaving camps in Calais did not mean they were all succeeding in reaching Britain.
French police plan to cut back on police in Calais despite the escalating numbers of migrants
Some reports suggest that increasing numbers of migrants have given up on reaching the UK and have settled for a life in France.
“There is no evidence to suggest that all of those who lead camps in Calais reach the UK,” the Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman said.
“Indeed, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that some will be seeking opportunities elsewhere in France or elsewhere in Europe.”
There were up to 4,000 Tunnel intrusions last week, and nine migrant deaths in the last month, according to Eurotunnel.
The company which manages the Tunnel also said its security staff has helped stop 37,000 migrants trying to enter Britain this year alone.
Rail traffic has been severely disrupted, with vehicle gridlock causing delays of up to 12 hours for lorries and holidaymakers.
Migrants pulled down fences today in a bid to get into the Tunnel to enter the UK
Kent Police chief constable Alan Pughsley, who forwarded the data on to the parliamentary Home Affairs Select Committee, said: “They cannot be ascertain whether these migrants leave to go elsewhere in France, or whether they enter the UK.
“Either way, their figures identify a transient migrant population.”
He said: “The exact figure is difficult to establish due to the migrants using fake identities or giving false details to Border staff.
“The figures provided by the police and partner agencies can only account for migrants that are actually found during relevant searches. The actual figure of migrants entering the country therefore may be a lot higher.”
An emergency Cobra meeting has been called to discuss the migrant crisis
The European Union (EU) has offered funds to help the French government cope with the growing numbers of migrants in Calais.
EU executive Commission spokesperson Mina Andreeva said: “We can provide technical assistance through the EU agencies and emergency funding” to France.”
She said the border incidents are “another stark example for the need for a greater level of solidarity and responsibility” among EU member states.
The Commission wants all member countries to participate in a scheme to relocate thousands of refugees from Greece and Italy.
Britain has declined to take part.
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