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| Calais migrant crisis: France sends extra police to Channel Tunnel | Calais migrant crisis: France sends extra police to Channel Tunnel |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| France is to send extra police officers to Calais, as migrants say they will keep trying to reach the UK despite the deaths of nine people since June. | France is to send extra police officers to Calais, as migrants say they will keep trying to reach the UK despite the deaths of nine people since June. |
| Migrants told the BBC going in groups of up to 400 gave them the best chance of getting into the Channel Tunnel. | Migrants told the BBC going in groups of up to 400 gave them the best chance of getting into the Channel Tunnel. |
| Severe delays are affecting travellers in France and the UK. And Operation Stack is due to last all week, with 3,600 lorries queuing on the M20. | |
| The home secretary said new fencing was urgently being installed in Calais. | The home secretary said new fencing was urgently being installed in Calais. |
| Speaking after a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee, Theresa May said: "Crucially what we are looking at now is improving security at the railhead at Coquelles, so we can ensure people are not trying to come through the tunnel." | |
| French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the extra 120 officers would be temporarily based in Calais and would help to secure the terminal area. | |
| Holes in fences | Holes in fences |
| Eurotunnel said 2,000 migrants had tried to get into the tunnel terminal on Monday, and 1,500 had tried on Tuesday. | |
| The BBC's Gavin Lee said migrants in Calais had told him they would keep trying to get through a number of holes in security fences. | The BBC's Gavin Lee said migrants in Calais had told him they would keep trying to get through a number of holes in security fences. |
| The man who died on Tuesday has been described by French police as Sudanese and aged between 25 and 30. | The man who died on Tuesday has been described by French police as Sudanese and aged between 25 and 30. |
| French police said he was probably crushed by a lorry which was exiting one of the shuttles that transport vehicles through the tunnel. | French police said he was probably crushed by a lorry which was exiting one of the shuttles that transport vehicles through the tunnel. |
| Meanwhile, in Paris an Egyptian man is seriously ill in hospital after he received an electric shock when he tried to stow away on a Eurostar train to London. | Meanwhile, in Paris an Egyptian man is seriously ill in hospital after he received an electric shock when he tried to stow away on a Eurostar train to London. |
| 'Urgent work' | 'Urgent work' |
| Eurotunnel says it has blocked 37,000 migrants trying to make their way to Britain since the beginning of the year. | Eurotunnel says it has blocked 37,000 migrants trying to make their way to Britain since the beginning of the year. |
| A spokesman said it was an issue for the government to "sort out", adding. "We need them to stop the migrant flow from Calais but it appears to be too much for them to handle." | A spokesman said it was an issue for the government to "sort out", adding. "We need them to stop the migrant flow from Calais but it appears to be too much for them to handle." |
| Mrs May said some migrants had reached Britain through the Channel Tunnel this week and their appeals for asylum were being considered. But she but did not clarify how many had arrived. | |
| She said Eurotunnel also had a role to play in implementing measures to protect the trains. | She said Eurotunnel also had a role to play in implementing measures to protect the trains. |
| The UK has said it will contribute an additional £7m (10m euros) to secure the Channel Tunnel, on top of £10m (15m euros) it pledged in September. | The UK has said it will contribute an additional £7m (10m euros) to secure the Channel Tunnel, on top of £10m (15m euros) it pledged in September. |
| Travel latest | Travel latest |
| BBC travel information | BBC travel information |
| Calais crisis: Advice for travellers | Calais crisis: Advice for travellers |
| Interim Labour leader Harriet Harman said the government needed to put pressure on the French authorities to process and document the migrants in Calais, where thousands are living in a makeshift camp. | Interim Labour leader Harriet Harman said the government needed to put pressure on the French authorities to process and document the migrants in Calais, where thousands are living in a makeshift camp. |
| "Either they are genuine asylum-seekers who should be given asylum or they should be deported," she said. | "Either they are genuine asylum-seekers who should be given asylum or they should be deported," she said. |
| Labour MP Keith Vaz, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, said he believed sending extra police would not solve the problem in Calais. | Labour MP Keith Vaz, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, said he believed sending extra police would not solve the problem in Calais. |
| Mr Vaz said: "I went to Kent yesterday and I saw 148 of them who had made the journey and who were delighted because they had been successful in coming here, having evaded all this security, they actually managed to come here." | Mr Vaz said: "I went to Kent yesterday and I saw 148 of them who had made the journey and who were delighted because they had been successful in coming here, having evaded all this security, they actually managed to come here." |
| Richard Burnett, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, which represents lorry drivers, said the situation was "escalating". | Richard Burnett, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, which represents lorry drivers, said the situation was "escalating". |
| He said: "We've got hundreds, thousands of examples of drivers that have been talking to us, telling us of their experiences where they've had 10-20 migrants surrounding their trucks, threatening them, taunting them, using bars and knives to bang on the sides of vehicles to threaten them and make them feel vulnerable." | He said: "We've got hundreds, thousands of examples of drivers that have been talking to us, telling us of their experiences where they've had 10-20 migrants surrounding their trucks, threatening them, taunting them, using bars and knives to bang on the sides of vehicles to threaten them and make them feel vulnerable." |
| Speaking from Singapore, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the government would do "everything we can" to work with the French to resolve the problem. | |
| He added: "There's no point trying to point fingers of blame - it's about working with the French, putting in place these additional security measures, adding in the investment where that's needed. Britain will always come forward with that." | He added: "There's no point trying to point fingers of blame - it's about working with the French, putting in place these additional security measures, adding in the investment where that's needed. Britain will always come forward with that." |
| The UN High Commissioner for Refugees' representative in France, Philippe Leclerc, said most of the migrants in Calais were fleeing violence in countries like Syria, Eritrea, Somalia and Afghanistan. | The UN High Commissioner for Refugees' representative in France, Philippe Leclerc, said most of the migrants in Calais were fleeing violence in countries like Syria, Eritrea, Somalia and Afghanistan. |
| He told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme they were among an estimated 200,000 who have crossed the Mediterranean to Italy and Greece in recent months. | He told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme they were among an estimated 200,000 who have crossed the Mediterranean to Italy and Greece in recent months. |
| Mr Leclerc also said the French authorities should do more to encourage migrants to claim asylum there. |