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| UK to support French centre to house asylum applicants away from Calais | UK to support French centre to house asylum applicants away from Calais |
| (12 days later) | |
| The British government is to provide support for a French facility sited “a significant distance away from Calais” to move people who have applied for asylum away from the French port. | The British government is to provide support for a French facility sited “a significant distance away from Calais” to move people who have applied for asylum away from the French port. |
| The centre is designed to ease the migration bottleneck in Calais that has caused a crisis there this summer. It is part of a raft of measures announced jointly by the French and UK governments to boost security at the port and process the more than 3,000 migrants gathered in a shanty town on its outskirts. | The centre is designed to ease the migration bottleneck in Calais that has caused a crisis there this summer. It is part of a raft of measures announced jointly by the French and UK governments to boost security at the port and process the more than 3,000 migrants gathered in a shanty town on its outskirts. |
| It is understood the British government will not finance “bricks and mortar” but will provide advice and “pastoral support” to improve the dispersal of migrants in France. | It is understood the British government will not finance “bricks and mortar” but will provide advice and “pastoral support” to improve the dispersal of migrants in France. |
| Related: The Guardian view on Europe’s refugee crisis: a little leadership, at last | Editorial | |
| On Thursday, home secretary Theresa May became the first government minister to visit Calais since the crisis reignited at the start of the summer . | On Thursday, home secretary Theresa May became the first government minister to visit Calais since the crisis reignited at the start of the summer . |
| She unveiled measures including a joint Franco-British “control and command centre”, allowing British police to be deployed on French soil in order to break up people-smuggling gangs. The centre will incorporate the UK Border Force and be led by two senior officers, one British and one French. | She unveiled measures including a joint Franco-British “control and command centre”, allowing British police to be deployed on French soil in order to break up people-smuggling gangs. The centre will incorporate the UK Border Force and be led by two senior officers, one British and one French. |
| Britain has also pledged £3.5m over two years towards helping the French government manage migrants in Calais, in addition to £7m towards security measures including a secure zone for UK-bound lorries announced in June. | Britain has also pledged £3.5m over two years towards helping the French government manage migrants in Calais, in addition to £7m towards security measures including a secure zone for UK-bound lorries announced in June. |
| A 4 metre high fence, 400 surveillance cameras, 200 French guards and 500 other French security forces now surround the Eurotunnel entrance, after a summer that May acknowledged had been “particularly difficult … for people on either side of the Channel”. | A 4 metre high fence, 400 surveillance cameras, 200 French guards and 500 other French security forces now surround the Eurotunnel entrance, after a summer that May acknowledged had been “particularly difficult … for people on either side of the Channel”. |
| Eurotunnel says that attempts to break into the site have reduced from a peak of 2,000 a night to about 150. | Eurotunnel says that attempts to break into the site have reduced from a peak of 2,000 a night to about 150. |
| During the official visit, migrants from the shanty town known as the New Jungle brought cars to a halt on a motorway with chants of “we are not animals” and “open the borders”. Police were sent to disperse the crowd, and teargas was used. | During the official visit, migrants from the shanty town known as the New Jungle brought cars to a halt on a motorway with chants of “we are not animals” and “open the borders”. Police were sent to disperse the crowd, and teargas was used. |
| French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said asylum seekers should be welcomed “with dignity”, but illegal immigrants would not be tolerated. | French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said asylum seekers should be welcomed “with dignity”, but illegal immigrants would not be tolerated. |
| The Guardian has spoken to numerous individuals in the camp in Calais in recent months who have sought asylum in France and have been given an initial meeting in up to six months’ time, with no provision for food or housing. | The Guardian has spoken to numerous individuals in the camp in Calais in recent months who have sought asylum in France and have been given an initial meeting in up to six months’ time, with no provision for food or housing. |
| A joint declaration signed by May and Cazeneuve will seek to tighten security around the Eurotunnel entrance and do more to “correct any misapprehensions about life in the UK”. | A joint declaration signed by May and Cazeneuve will seek to tighten security around the Eurotunnel entrance and do more to “correct any misapprehensions about life in the UK”. |
| Immigration minister James Brokenshire, who was also on the visit, said the government would be doing more to promote the message that “the streets of the UK are not paved with gold” and “it is not a land of milk and honey”. | Immigration minister James Brokenshire, who was also on the visit, said the government would be doing more to promote the message that “the streets of the UK are not paved with gold” and “it is not a land of milk and honey”. |
| The declaration stated that the UK would continue “its fortnightly programme of information provision to would-be migrants”. | The declaration stated that the UK would continue “its fortnightly programme of information provision to would-be migrants”. |
| Related: Calais crisis: British police to be deployed to target people-smuggling | Related: Calais crisis: British police to be deployed to target people-smuggling |
| It continued: “That reflects the United Kingdom government’s work to render the UK a less attractive place for illegal migrants, including through limiting access to housing and health services in the UK, and through targeting disreputable employers who seek to employ illegal migrants.” | It continued: “That reflects the United Kingdom government’s work to render the UK a less attractive place for illegal migrants, including through limiting access to housing and health services in the UK, and through targeting disreputable employers who seek to employ illegal migrants.” |
| The Home Office would not provide details of the number or placement of Border Force officers providing information in Calais or the size or nature of any new information campaign, but volunteers working in the camps on a daily basis told the Guardian they were not aware of any British officials working inside the camp. | The Home Office would not provide details of the number or placement of Border Force officers providing information in Calais or the size or nature of any new information campaign, but volunteers working in the camps on a daily basis told the Guardian they were not aware of any British officials working inside the camp. |
| It is understood border officials may see individuals on a small scale in the Jules Ferry reception centre, which provides sleeping quarters for 100 women and children and a daily meal. | It is understood border officials may see individuals on a small scale in the Jules Ferry reception centre, which provides sleeping quarters for 100 women and children and a daily meal. |
| May also revealed that the government has opened talks with Belgium and Holland in a bid to head off potential new migrant routes to the UK following an increase of security at Calais. | May also revealed that the government has opened talks with Belgium and Holland in a bid to head off potential new migrant routes to the UK following an increase of security at Calais. |
| Other northern French ports such as Dunkirk were being assessed, as were Zeebrugge in Belgium and the Hook of Holland amid fears smugglers could shift their efforts elsewhere, she said. | Other northern French ports such as Dunkirk were being assessed, as were Zeebrugge in Belgium and the Hook of Holland amid fears smugglers could shift their efforts elsewhere, she said. |
| “We are very well aware of the possibility of displacement,” May said. “The immigration minister has already had discussions with the Dutch and Belgian authorities to look at ports there and whether work might need to be done there. Of course we are looking at other ports like Dunkirk.” | “We are very well aware of the possibility of displacement,” May said. “The immigration minister has already had discussions with the Dutch and Belgian authorities to look at ports there and whether work might need to be done there. Of course we are looking at other ports like Dunkirk.” |
| Related: 'Fences won't put anyone off': migrants dismiss new Calais security crackdown | Related: 'Fences won't put anyone off': migrants dismiss new Calais security crackdown |
| More than 240,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean already in 2015, the vast majority arriving on the shores of Greece and Italy in an unprecedented migrant crisis, caused largely by people fleeing war and oppression in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea. The migrants in Calais account for as little as 1% of those who have arrived in Europe so far this year. | More than 240,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean already in 2015, the vast majority arriving on the shores of Greece and Italy in an unprecedented migrant crisis, caused largely by people fleeing war and oppression in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea. The migrants in Calais account for as little as 1% of those who have arrived in Europe so far this year. |
| The UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, welcomed elements of joint declaration but stressed that it was necessary to increase the legal ways for migrants and refugees to enter the continent. | The UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, welcomed elements of joint declaration but stressed that it was necessary to increase the legal ways for migrants and refugees to enter the continent. |
| “It is important to note that to be effective in cracking down on smugglers and traffickers, we must increase the number of legal avenues for people in need of protection to come to Europe,” he said. | “It is important to note that to be effective in cracking down on smugglers and traffickers, we must increase the number of legal avenues for people in need of protection to come to Europe,” he said. |
| Leigh Daynes, executive director of Doctors of the World, which runs a small-scale field hospital in the Calais camp, welcomed the recognition that the situation in Calais was “part of a continuum that stretches all the way from countries such as Syria and Sudan”. | Leigh Daynes, executive director of Doctors of the World, which runs a small-scale field hospital in the Calais camp, welcomed the recognition that the situation in Calais was “part of a continuum that stretches all the way from countries such as Syria and Sudan”. |
| But he called for immediate measures to tackle unsanitary and miserable conditions in the Calais camp, which he said would not be tolerated “in any other refugee camp in any other part of the world, where globally agreed standards for aid are upheld”. | But he called for immediate measures to tackle unsanitary and miserable conditions in the Calais camp, which he said would not be tolerated “in any other refugee camp in any other part of the world, where globally agreed standards for aid are upheld”. |
| He said: “We are spending many millions of taxpayers’ money on security and ‘command and control’ centres. A small proportion of that could, and indeed should, be spent on immediately necessary humanitarian care.” | He said: “We are spending many millions of taxpayers’ money on security and ‘command and control’ centres. A small proportion of that could, and indeed should, be spent on immediately necessary humanitarian care.” |