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| Cameron chairs Cobra meeting after overnight standoff in Calais | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Related: Kent social services struggling to cope with children seeking asylum | Related: Kent social services struggling to cope with children seeking asylum |
| David Cameron is to chair a meeting of Britain’s emergency Cobra committee on the migrant crisis at Calais after another night during which police in France blocked people from reaching the Channel tunnel. | David Cameron is to chair a meeting of Britain’s emergency Cobra committee on the migrant crisis at Calais after another night during which police in France blocked people from reaching the Channel tunnel. |
| About 3,000 people from countries including Syria and Eritrea are camping out in the northern French port of Calais and trying to cross into Britain illegally by climbing on board lorries and trains. France has bolstered its police presence. | About 3,000 people from countries including Syria and Eritrea are camping out in the northern French port of Calais and trying to cross into Britain illegally by climbing on board lorries and trains. France has bolstered its police presence. |
| The tunnel was temporarily closed on Friday morning while officials carried out an inspection after more migrants attempted to enter overnight at the entrance in Coquelles. | |
| In a tweet at about 8am Eurotunnel said: “Due to a tunnel inspection there will be disruption to our timetable. Delays expected.” | |
| Just after 9am it said the inspection was complete and that a full service would resume, but there was an hour-long wait for trains. Minutes later it said a track inspection was still going ahead and that train services were sharing a single line. | |
| Two migrants were photographed in the early hours of Friday morning clinging to the top of a lorry as it left the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone. | |
| French police attempted to form a ring of steel around the tunnel on Thursday night, prompting an evening of scuffles and standoffs with migrants attempting to breach the terminal in Calais. | |
| Up to a hundred migrants attempted to overrun police lines at a petrol station near the Eurostar terminal but were held back by baton-wielding gendarmes and riot vans. | Up to a hundred migrants attempted to overrun police lines at a petrol station near the Eurostar terminal but were held back by baton-wielding gendarmes and riot vans. |
| Eurotunnel temporarily closed its French platform for “security reasons” following the incident, causing disruption to trains to and from the UK, but the addition of 150 police officers appeared to prevent any major rail disruption. | |
| Cameron, returning to the UK after a four-day tour of south-east Asia, will head to Westminster to chair the high-level meeting on Friday morning. It is understood he will ask ministers and officials to see whether more can be done to address the situation at the port and the Channel tunnel railhead at Coquelles. | |
| Speaking on BBC’s Today programme on Friday morning, Keith Vaz, chair of the home affairs select committee, said the migrant situation at Calais could only be resolved by a face-to-face meeting between David Cameron and the French president, François Hollande. He also called on French authorities to deport migrants discovered having arrived illegally in Calais, “rather than do what they have done which is to release them back into the countryside”. | |
| The Cobra meeting comes after the prime minister blamed the chaos at Calais on a “swarm” of migrants crossing the Mediterranean and travelling through Europe. Cameron’s comments earned him criticism from the acting Labour leader, Harriet Harman, who said he should “remember he is talking about people, not insects”. | |
| The Refugee Council, a British charity that works with asylum seekers, said it was “awful, dehumanising language from a world leader”. | The Refugee Council, a British charity that works with asylum seekers, said it was “awful, dehumanising language from a world leader”. |
| Britain’s defence ministry is understood to be in the early stages of developing plans to help ease traffic congestion in Kent as the crisis shows no sign of abating. An MoD source said the measures could involve using land owned by the department to free up space on the M20 motorway. | Britain’s defence ministry is understood to be in the early stages of developing plans to help ease traffic congestion in Kent as the crisis shows no sign of abating. An MoD source said the measures could involve using land owned by the department to free up space on the M20 motorway. |
| The Daily Telegraph said MoD land around Folkestone could be used as a temporary lorry park. The source said a decision on the plans would be “taken in due course”, adding they were led by the civilian authorities rather than military. | The Daily Telegraph said MoD land around Folkestone could be used as a temporary lorry park. The source said a decision on the plans would be “taken in due course”, adding they were led by the civilian authorities rather than military. |
| The government has resisted mounting calls for the army to be deployed to help deal directly with the migrant crisis. | The government has resisted mounting calls for the army to be deployed to help deal directly with the migrant crisis. |
| The situation in Calais has disrupted the cross-Channel haulage industry, with long queues at border control points in England and France. | The situation in Calais has disrupted the cross-Channel haulage industry, with long queues at border control points in England and France. |
| A second standoff began later on Thursday evening when police stopped and searched a Syrian man on suspicion of carrying a sharp object to cut fences. A crowd of about 50 migrants, mostly from east African countries, swelled in front of a line of around 20 police officers wearing high-visibility jackets as the man was separated from the group and questioned. | A second standoff began later on Thursday evening when police stopped and searched a Syrian man on suspicion of carrying a sharp object to cut fences. A crowd of about 50 migrants, mostly from east African countries, swelled in front of a line of around 20 police officers wearing high-visibility jackets as the man was separated from the group and questioned. |
| During the standoff, the man’s friend, Adam, 27, from Syria, told the officers: “We are just trying to cross for a safe place. Why all this police? We have a war in our countries and we need a safe place.” | During the standoff, the man’s friend, Adam, 27, from Syria, told the officers: “We are just trying to cross for a safe place. Why all this police? We have a war in our countries and we need a safe place.” |
| Later, Adam said he was one of about 50 migrants in Calais who had fled Syria since Islamic State militants overran large swaths of the country. “The English government has to accept the people who has a war in his country ... but if he doesn’t have a war then leave him here. We [Syrians] have a big war,” he said, sitting with his hood up and his back to the police line. | Later, Adam said he was one of about 50 migrants in Calais who had fled Syria since Islamic State militants overran large swaths of the country. “The English government has to accept the people who has a war in his country ... but if he doesn’t have a war then leave him here. We [Syrians] have a big war,” he said, sitting with his hood up and his back to the police line. |
| When the standoff ended after 30 minutes, a French police officer told the migrants: “Here is your friend. All is OK. Go home, get sleep. See you tomorrow.” | |
| One of the older men in the Syrian group, Ibrahim Hussein, 45, was taken to a local hospital suffering from impaired vision after falling into a hole while fleeing police on Wednesday night. Hussein could not speak English but his friend, a Syrian man who gave his name as William Ali, demanded to know why Britain no longer accepted migrants fleeing war. | One of the older men in the Syrian group, Ibrahim Hussein, 45, was taken to a local hospital suffering from impaired vision after falling into a hole while fleeing police on Wednesday night. Hussein could not speak English but his friend, a Syrian man who gave his name as William Ali, demanded to know why Britain no longer accepted migrants fleeing war. |
| “You can send this message to David Cameron,” he said. “There is just 40 person who want to go – not a thousand, not 2,000, not a million. In Jordan, there is 1 million Syrians. In Kurdistan there is 1 million Syrians. How can Britain deny 40 people?” | “You can send this message to David Cameron,” he said. “There is just 40 person who want to go – not a thousand, not 2,000, not a million. In Jordan, there is 1 million Syrians. In Kurdistan there is 1 million Syrians. How can Britain deny 40 people?” |
| The night of simmering tension was in contrast to the scenes on Tuesday night when a Sudanese man died as hundreds of migrants made 1,500 attempts to storm the Channel tunnel, prompting crisis meetings of the French and British governments. | The night of simmering tension was in contrast to the scenes on Tuesday night when a Sudanese man died as hundreds of migrants made 1,500 attempts to storm the Channel tunnel, prompting crisis meetings of the French and British governments. |
| The deputy mayor of Calais, Philippe Mignonet, reacted angrily to Cameron’s remarks that there was “a swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean, seeking a better life, wanting to come to Britain”. | The deputy mayor of Calais, Philippe Mignonet, reacted angrily to Cameron’s remarks that there was “a swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean, seeking a better life, wanting to come to Britain”. |
| Related: Is the Calais crisis costing the UK £250m a day in lost trade? | Related: Is the Calais crisis costing the UK £250m a day in lost trade? |
| Describing the prime minister’s comment as the “typical words of ignorance”, Mignonet said it was time for Cameron to attend a meeting in the French port town to see the situation and speak to migrants himself. “It is proof that David Cameron doesn’t know anything about the situation – the only wish he has is to protect his border,” he told 5News. | Describing the prime minister’s comment as the “typical words of ignorance”, Mignonet said it was time for Cameron to attend a meeting in the French port town to see the situation and speak to migrants himself. “It is proof that David Cameron doesn’t know anything about the situation – the only wish he has is to protect his border,” he told 5News. |
| There are fears that the UK’s already under-pressure social services will be pushed to breaking point as the number of asylum seekers increases. Paul Carter, leader of Kent county council, has met officials from the Home Office to highlight the impact of hundreds of minors arriving unaccompanied at the port of Dover. | There are fears that the UK’s already under-pressure social services will be pushed to breaking point as the number of asylum seekers increases. Paul Carter, leader of Kent county council, has met officials from the Home Office to highlight the impact of hundreds of minors arriving unaccompanied at the port of Dover. |
| Nine people have been killed attempting to cross the Channel in the last month, according to Eurotunnel. | Nine people have been killed attempting to cross the Channel in the last month, according to Eurotunnel. |