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| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| 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 stop migrants boarding them, Home Secretary Theresa May has announced. | A new "secure zone" will be created at Calais for UK-bound lorries in a bid to stop migrants boarding them, 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. |
| Mrs May said 8,000 attempts by people to cross the Channel to the UK were foiled between 21 June and 11 July. | Mrs May said 8,000 attempts by people to cross the Channel to the UK were foiled between 21 June and 11 July. |
| 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' |
| She told MPs hauliers had been subjected to "repeated attempts by illegal migrants who attempt to stow themselves away in their vehicles". | She told MPs 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. |
| She said the security zone should "transform protection" for hauliers. | 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. |
| Kent Police Chief Constable Alan Pughsley later told the Home Affairs Select Committee there had been a "significant increase" in the number of migrants found hiding in vehicles in the UK over the past month. He said: | |
| Mr Pughsley said he believed the strike action by French ferry workers during that time was a "contributing factor" to the numbers because it meant "easier access" for people to trains or lorries. | Mr Pughsley said he believed the strike action by French ferry workers during that time was a "contributing factor" to the numbers because it meant "easier access" for people to trains or lorries. |
| John Keefe, director of public affairs at Eurotunnel, told MPs the 5,000 figure had grown from an estimated 600 migrants in January. | |
| "We have never seen numbers like this before and we have not in the past seen the degree of organisation that goes with the numbers either," he said. | |
| 'Terrible crisis' | '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. |
| The 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. | The 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. |
| 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. | 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. |