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David Cameron to send dogs and fences to quell Calais migrant crisis Calais migrant crisis to last through summer, says Cameron
(34 minutes later)
Extra sniffer dogs and fencing will be sent to France to help deal with the Calais migrant crisis, and Ministry of Defence land will be used to ease congestion on the UK side of the Channel tunnel, David Cameron has said. The Calais migrant crisis is likely to last throughout the summer, David Cameron warned on Friday as he announced additional security measures to protect the Eurotunnel railhead in France.
Speaking in Downing Street after chairing a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee, the prime minister said the situation was “unacceptable” and that he would be speaking to the French president, François Hollande, later on Friday. More sniffer dogs and fencing are to be sent to Calais and Ministry of Defence land is to be used as a lorry park to ease related road congestion in Dover.
Cameron said: “This is going to be a difficult issue right across the summer. Cameron announced the measures after an emergency Cobra meeting of ministers. The prime minister, attempting to demonstrate that he is getting a grip on the crisis on his return from his tour of south-east Asia, admitted the situation was “unacceptable”.
“I will have a team of senior ministers who will be working to deal with it, and we rule nothing out in taking action to deal with this very serious problem. He stressed that the British government was working “hand in glove” with the French to try to find a solution and he would be speaking to the French president, François Hollande, later on Friday.
“We are absolutely on it. We know it needs more work.” “This is going to be a difficult issue right across the summer,” said Cameron. “I will have a team of senior ministers who will be working to deal with it, and we rule nothing out in taking action to deal with this very serious problem.”
The Cobra meeting came after another night during which police in France blocked people from reaching the Channel tunnel. “We are absolutely on it. We know it needs more work,” he said.
About 3,000 people from countries including Syria and Eritrea are camping out in Calais and trying to cross into Britain illegally by climbing on board lorries and trains. France bolstered its police presence. The extra sniffer dogs are to be sent to provide 24-hour cover of the approaches to the Eurotunnel railhead at Coquelles and to the approaches to the ferry port at Calais. Cameron also promised more resources and “more policing, if necessary”.
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. The extra dogs and fencing amount to a recognition that despite measures agreed at Monday’s Cobra meeting chaired by the home secretary, Theresa May, the extra work to install fencing particularly at Coquelles has not yet secured the railhead as the nightly pictures of migrants breaking through the fencing have documented.
The decision to make MoD land available at Dover is to provide an alternative lorry park to the M20 motorway outside the port. Under Operation Stack up to 6,000 lorries have been queueing for up to 18 hours to get onto the disrupted ferry services across the Channel.
The closure of the M20 motorway has meant hundreds of thousands of British holidaymakers are also facing delays of several hours getting in and out of the UK across the Channel.
“The situation is not acceptable and it is absolutely this government’s priority to deal with it in every way we can,” said the prime minister.
“We have got people trying to illegally enter our country and here in Britain we have got lorry drivers and holidaymakers facing potential delays.
“We are going to take action right across the board starting with helping the French on their side of the border. We are going to put in more fencing, more resources, more sniffer dog teams, more assistance in any way we can in terms of resources.”
In Kent, Cameron said “we need to do more to help lorry drivers and holidaymakers. We are going to do everything we can to reduce the disruption, including using MoD land, and we will be looking at other options we can take as well.”
Two migrants were photographed in the early hours of the morning clinging to the top of a lorry as it left the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone.Two migrants were photographed in the early hours of the morning clinging to the top of a lorry as it left the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone.
Footage also emerged of three presumed stowaways jumping out of a lorry in Stourbridge in the West Midlands after cutting a hole in the vehicle’s side.
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.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 100 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.