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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Calais migrants: UK to create lorry 'secure zone' | Calais migrants: UK to create lorry 'secure zone' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A new "secure zone" will be created at Calais for UK-bound lorries in a bid to tackle the migrant crisis, Home Secretary Theresa May has announced. | A new "secure zone" will be created at Calais for UK-bound lorries in a bid to tackle the migrant crisis, Home Secretary Theresa May has announced. |
| The area will be able to accommodate 230 vehicles - the equivalent of a two-and-a-half mile queue. | The area will be able to accommodate 230 vehicles - the equivalent of a two-and-a-half mile queue. |
| The home secretary told MPs the purpose of the secure zone was to prevent migrants boarding queuing lorries. | The home secretary told MPs the purpose of the secure zone was to prevent migrants boarding queuing lorries. |
| The situation was exacerbated by recent strike action by French ferry workers which caused long queues of vehicles. | The situation was exacerbated by recent strike action by French ferry workers which caused long queues of vehicles. |
| 'Repeated attempts' | 'Repeated attempts' |
| Mrs May told the Commons that 8,000 attempts by illegal immigrants to cross the Channel to the UK had been foiled between 21 June and 11 July. | Mrs May told the Commons that 8,000 attempts by illegal immigrants to cross the Channel to the UK had been foiled between 21 June and 11 July. |
| She said hauliers had been subjected to "repeated attempts by illegal migrants who attempt to stow themselves away in their vehicles". | She said hauliers had been subjected to "repeated attempts by illegal migrants who attempt to stow themselves away in their vehicles". |
| The new zone should provide protection for lorries and their drivers by "removing them from the open road where they can become targets for migrants", said Mrs May. | The new zone should provide protection for lorries and their drivers by "removing them from the open road where they can become targets for migrants", said Mrs May. |
| Mrs May said British drivers "work tirelessly" to keep the economy moving, adding: "It is imperative they are allowed to continue their business unimpeded." | |
| She said the security zone should "transform protection" for hauliers. | |
| Mrs May said British and French authorities had been working together for months to improve security at Calais. | Mrs May said British and French authorities had been working together for months to improve security at Calais. |
| Some £12m will spent on work to reinforce security in northern French ports, including new fencing and work to improve traffic flow and Border Force controls, which would be completed next month, she said. | Some £12m will spent on work to reinforce security in northern French ports, including new fencing and work to improve traffic flow and Border Force controls, which would be completed next month, she said. |
| Other security measures already announced include a £2m upgrade of detection technology, £1m extra for dog searches and new fencing in Calais. | Other security measures already announced include a £2m upgrade of detection technology, £1m extra for dog searches and new fencing in Calais. |
| Road Haulage Association chief executive Richard Burnett said the loss of loads due to contamination by migrants entering vehicles passing through Calais could be £1bn a year. | |
| Meanwhile, Kent Police Chief Constable Alan Pughsley told the Home Affairs Select Committee there had been a "significant increase" in the number of migrants his officers had found hiding in vehicles in the UK. | |
| From 1 January to 31 May this year, police found 26 migrants, he said. But in a five-week period from 1 June, 405 people were found by police, while on one day, 8 July, 96 people were found. | |
| Mr Pughsley said he believed the strike action by French ferry workers during that time was a "contributing factor" to the numbers. | |
| 'Terrible crisis' | |
| Last week a migrant from Eritrea died attempting to board a freight shuttle headed to Britain. The death came days after about 150 migrants tried to storm the Channel Tunnel terminal in France. | Last week a migrant from Eritrea died attempting to board a freight shuttle headed to Britain. The death came days after about 150 migrants tried to storm the Channel Tunnel terminal in France. |
| A strike by French ferry workers at the end of last month forced the suspension of Channel Tunnel services. It closed the Port of Calais and resulted in thousands of lorry drivers being stuck on the roads into Calais. This led hundreds of migrants to try to board UK-bound lorries. | |
| About 3,000 migrants are estimated to be living rough around Calais, waiting for a chance to cross the Channel. | About 3,000 migrants are estimated to be living rough around Calais, waiting for a chance to cross the Channel. |
| UKIP's migration spokesman, Steven Woolfe, said the government was "waking up to the crisis" but called for more UK border personnel in Calais and said the UK should negotiate a scheme where migrants can be returned immediately to France if they have entered the UK illegally. | UKIP's migration spokesman, Steven Woolfe, said the government was "waking up to the crisis" but called for more UK border personnel in Calais and said the UK should negotiate a scheme where migrants can be returned immediately to France if they have entered the UK illegally. |
| Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said Britain's border was the scene of a "terrible crisis" where lives were being lost and people were being injured. |