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| Calais migrant crisis to last through summer, says Cameron | Calais migrant crisis to last through summer, says Cameron |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Related: Migrants in Calais and Folkestone - in pictures | |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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 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”. | 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”. |
| 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. | 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. |
| “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. | |
| “We are absolutely on it. We know it needs more work,” he said. | “We are absolutely on it. We know it needs more work,” he said. |
| 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 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 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 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 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. |
| Kent police said the current average queuing times for freight lorries in Operation Stack were 4-5 hours for the port of Dover and three hours for Eurotunnel. They confirmed the closure of the M20 between junctions 8 and 11 and said the queueing system is expected to remain in place into the weekend. | |
| “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. | “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 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.” | “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.” | 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. | 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 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. | 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. |
| Separately, on Friday morning about 300 employees of a French ferry company blocked access to Calais, using burning tyres to prevent access to the port. | |
| The protesters, from French company SeaFrance, are demonstrating against plans to sell off some of their ferries to rival Danish firm DFDS, a move expected to result in hundreds of job losses. | |
| Earlier this month, striking ferry workers blocked Calais for three consecutive days, causing havoc with cross-Channel sailings and huge tailbacks on roads in the region. |