#1 Calais/Channel Tunnel/Asylum Seeker thread

[NewsFeed]

Xavier Bertrand blamed UK's 'unregulated jobs market' for Calais migrants

He repeated calls to have the British border moved from Calais to Dover

Mr Bertrand says he's 'victimised' by the British media for being outspoken

Calais mayor also blames Britain for illegal immigrant crisis in her town

A leading French MP has attacked British 'hypocrisy' over the surging numbers of UK-bound migrants on the northern French coast.

Former employment minister Xavier Bertrand blamed the UK's 'unregulated jobs market' for the presence of more than 3,000 illegal immigrants around Calais.

He repeated calls to have the British border moved from Calais to Dover, so migrants could claim asylum there when they arrived.

And he said he was being 'victimised' by the British media because he had dared to tell the truth about why the refugees wanted to sneak into Britain.

He said: 'We all know why they are in Calais. They are there because they want to get to England, where they don't need identity papers.

'These migrants need telling that in England, they will become cheap clandestine labour for English employers.'

He said France should tear up the 2003 Le Touquet agreement between Paris and London which placed the UK border at the ferry and Eurotunnel terminals in Calais.

The MP for the centre-right Republican Party added to France Info radio: 'No. The British border is in Dover. If we are to ever solve this migrant problem, then it needs to be resolved in London too.

'Also, I know the British press target me, especially their famous tabloid press, but that's just because they find the truth upsetting.'

Mr Bertrand is known for his outspoken views on migrants in France. Three years ago, he said that Muslim women who hide their faces behind veils should be stripped of their French citizenship.

There are an estimated 3,000 migrants living in squalid camps on the northern French coast, hoping to sneak aboard lorries and ferries to Britain.

Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart also recently blamed Britain's 'black market economy' and 'cushy benefits system' for the illegal immigrant crisis in her town.

She said the UK should be forced to abandon border checks for travellers arriving from Europe to help move the migrants away.

Ms Bouchart said: 'They want to go to England because they can expect better conditions on arrival there than anywhere else in Europe or even internationally.

'There are no ID cards. They can easily find work outside the formal economy, which is not really controlled.

'Calais is a hostage to the British. The migrants come here to get to Britain.

'The situation here is barely manageable. The UK border should be moved from Calais to the English side of the Channel because we're not here to do their jobs.'

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[NewsFeed]

Migrants desperate to get to England from the French port of Calais are now trying to swim across the English Channel - with disastrous consequences, reports the BBC's Paddy O'Connell.

Last summer, sitting outside his pub near Dover, landlord Nigel Wyndmus saw a small dinghy. A cutter from the coastguard drew up alongside.

At first he mistook what was happening for a training exercise.

"The boat was just a few hundred yards out," Mr Wyndmus said, "and we realised that it was illegal immigrants trying to get to England."

He added: "People coming across on boats was not really considered an option" - he believed it was all done by stowaways boarding lorries and trying to break into the Channel Tunnel.

Never heard from again

But now it seems that an unknown number of migrants have made the desperate decision to swim towards England from the French coast.

While some may try to stagger their journey by taking advantage of small dinghies or yachts, we now know that others try to swim the whole way - across one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

After months of research by Norway's Dagbladet newspaper, the identities of two men who tried to do this was revealed.

They bought a wetsuit on the same day last October and were never heard from again.

They may have tried to board a boat of the kind seen by locals in the Coastguard pub, or they may have decided to swim the whole way.

Wetsuits traced

Journalist Anders Fjellberg was alarmed when he first read that a body had been found in a wetsuit in southern Norway.

"My initial reaction was: I hope it's not somebody I know, because I surf and the surf community in Norway is quite small - and if someone is found in a wetsuit they could have been a surfer," he recalls.

But after checks with the police, the case was linked to another discovery of human remains - also in a wetsuit - but this time in the Netherlands.

"The Dutch police managed to trace both of the wetsuits by the serial number to a sports shop in Calais. So we went there to learn how anyone could be that desperate," says Mr Fjellberg. "What is it about this place and these people that drives them to this kind of desperation?"

At first the trail went cold, as the shop staff said the men who bought the suits looked like Afghans.

But as reports trickled out online, the men heard from a man who had been looking for a missing Syrian migrant named Mouaz al-Balkhi.

Tracing first the man's uncle in the northern English town of Bradford then his parents in a refugee camp in Jordan, Mr Fjellberg arranged for a DNA test.

The test was inconclusive for the body found in Norway, but it was a match for the remains washed up in the Netherlands.

Never seen again

"Mouaz was a very kind brother and a great cook," says his sister Rahaf al-Balkhi speaking to us from Amman in Jordan.

"We left Syria and he stayed behind to finish his studies in Damascus."

He joined the family in Jordan but left for Libya looking for a job. His family heard f

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read full article at source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33584706

[NewsFeed]

By Dominique Vidalon

PARIS, July 22 (Reuters) - Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel said it has asked the French and British governments to pay it back close to 10 million euros ($11 million) in security costs as it tries to cope with a migrant crisis at the port of Calais.

Dislocated by war, political turmoil and poverty, some 3,000 migrants are living in makeshift camps in and around the French port city, and every day attempts are made to board lorries and trains heading to the UK.

They expect to find illicit employment in Britain's shadow economy or claim asylum in a system often seen as more generous than the French equivalent.

As it unveiled a 9 percent rise in first-half core profit on Wednesday, Eurotunnel said it spent 13 million euros on security in the period, the same as for the whole of last year.

"The increase in pressure from migrants in Calais led to disruption to services during June and could lead to further disruptions to traffic and to additional security expenditure in the second half of the year," the company said in a statement.

Eurotunnel said it had made a request for 9.7 million euros to be reimbursed, adding that the UK government had already agreed to pay 4.7 million euros.

"Public authorities underestimate the migrant situation," Chief Executive Jacques Gounon told a conference call.

The problem has been exacerbated by a French ferry workers' strike, which has blocked traffic around Calais. Employees of the Eurotunnel-owned MyFerryLink service - whose ferries the company plans to sell - temporarily blocked French road access to the undersea rail tunnel on Tuesday.

Overall, Eurotunnel said business remained "dynamic", driven by the recovery in the UK economy and partly in the euro zone, although it warned that the "large concentration of migrants in the Calais area" may "continue to cause disruptions".

The company kept its goal for higher profit this year and next. First-half earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached 252 million euros, in line with the average of analyst forecasts in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll. It is aiming for EBITDA of 535 million euros this year and 580 million in 2016, against 498 million last year.

First-half revenue rose 9 percent to 649 million euros, with traffic growing 8 percent for truck shuttles and 13 percent for freight trains. ($1 = 0.9123 euros) (Editing by James Regan and Mark John)

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[NewsFeed]

The teenager's body was found on the UK side of the Channel Tunnel

Believed he died in France and was carried into the UK on the train's roof

French authorities reveal seven have died in seven weeks of migrant crisis

Estimates claim more than 5,000 people are camped out at Calais, France

The body of a suspected migrant has been found on the roof of a Eurotunnel train on the British side of the Channel Tunnel.

The teenager, discovered by police on the loading bay of the vehicle shuttle service, is believed to have died in France before being carried through the tunnel.

A 23-year-old woman from Eritrean has also died today as she tried to get on board a UK-bound lorry in Calais.

The woman was hit by a car at an A16 motorway exit that is frequently used by migrants as they attempt to enter HGVs.

The latest death means eight migrants have died while attempting to cross from France into the UK in the last eight weeks.

News of the death comes as dozens of illegal migrants were caught travelling to Britain on empty freight train carriages.

Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel has repeatedly called on the UK and French governments to end the escalating migrant crisis.

‘Kent Police was called at 4.13am to a report that the body of a male had been discovered on the loading bay of a Eurotunnel train at the Channel Tunnel terminal in Folkestone,’ confirmed a police spokesperson.

‘Inquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances behind his death.’

Estimates say that around 5,000 migrants, displaced from countries including Syria, Libya and Eritrea, are camping at Calais.

Another migrant drowned in the northern French port city on Sunday night as he tried to break though a secure fence on to the Eurotunnel site.

Two other people have died in separate accidents in recent months. One, an Eritrean migrant, was reportedly killed trying to get on a train at Coquelles.

Migrants are reportedly taking advantage of authorities at the French port being distracted by other groups of migrants, in order to sneak onto the roofs of departing trains.

Footage handed by a worker at Folkestone to The Sun appeared to show a group of around 40 people riding on an empty carriage as it arrived at the UK station.

Holiday-goers have been warned to expect delays on part of Kent’s road network.

Police have warned that Operation Stack – which sees freight traffic queued on sections of the M20 – could continue until at least Sunday.

‘Operation Stack is likely to have a knock-on effect and lead to increased congestion on the A20 as well as other local roads,’ confirmed a Kent Police spokesman.

‘Motorists are therefore asked to consider if their journeys are absolutely necessary, and if so whether alternative routes can be taken.’

But a port spokesman said it remained ‘open for business’, with P&O Ferries and DFDS Seaways operating full services.

The crisis in Calais has exploded over the summer, with more than 8,000 attempts by migrants to travel to Britain being i

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[NewsFeed]

Incursions by "hundreds" of migrants into the Eurotunnel terminal in France have become a nightly occurrence, the cross-Channel rail operator has said.

Passenger and freight services were again hit by delays on Friday as the firm tried to run services on one of the busiest days for holiday travel.

Eurotunnel said police were being called each night to remove migrants from its Coquelles base.

It is thought there are now about 5,000 migrants in Calais.

Eurotunnel said the migrant activity was well-organised and planned, and people were so desperate to reach the UK they were prepared to throw themselves at trains travelling at 90mph.

The company's director of public affairs, John Keefe, said hundreds of people were being removed from around the terminal perimeter, the railway or platforms each night.

He said: "We're dealing with people traffickers working together to create diversions and distract security. It's well-organised, co-ordinated activity."

On Thursday, the body of a teenager was found on a train at the Eurotunnel terminal in Kent.

'Far bigger problem'

Mr Keefe said migrants were roaming Calais at will, with the single goal of trying to reach the UK.

Numbers were growing at 50 to 100 each day, he added.

He raised concerns that thousands of people had arrived in the French town over winter and numbers would continue at the same rate over the summer.

The increase in numbers came as no surprise following migrant activity in the Mediterranean, he added.

He said: "The only voices are the operators out of Calais - us and the ferries. But this is a European problem. Two governments have been taken by surprise and have not yet reacted."

Eurotunnel has handed out leaflets in migrant camps and put up posters in nine languages around its French base, warning migrants about fast trains, high voltage electricity and moving vehicles.

But Mr Keefe added: "This is a far bigger problem than one small transport company operating across a 30-mile stretch of water.

"This is an international problem - for Europe and the rest of the world."

Operation Stack in place

The latest overnight migrant activity coincided with a peak-time holiday weekend as the rail operator dealt with heavy passenger and freight demand.

Mr Keefe said Eurotunnel had to reform its timetable each morning after migrant activity and on an ordinary day could absorb delays quickly - but that was not possible at peak times.

Meanwhile, Kent's police and crime commissioner has called for national funding to deal with Operation Stack - when French-bound lorries park on a closed section of the M20 to await crossings.

With the motorway currently closed to all but freight between junctions eight and 11 and restrictions set to remain in place until Sunday, Ann Barnes said the bill should not be picked up by Kent taxpayers as the situation had become a "chronic national problem". She added Kent has gone from being "Eden to Hell".

The Freight Transport Association told BBC Radio 5

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read full article at source: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-33649334

[NewsFeed]

Shocking attack took place on a rural road in Brittany in north west France

200 men set up a roadblock using farm vehicles, hay bales and tyres

British lorry rivers fought back as farmers tried to seize their documents

But they couldn't protect their 140 tonne load of fish, which was scattered on the road and covered in diesel to ensure it couldn't be eaten

A mob of 200 furious French farmers have hijacked a convoy of seven British lorries and covered the £200,000 worth of fish they were transporting from the Scottish Highland in diesel.

The shocking midnight attack took place on a rural road in Brittany in the north west of the country, with farmers using agricultural vehicles, bales of hay and tyres to build a road block.

The organised French criminals then swarmed over the trucks and used forklifts to tip the fish boxes onto the road before destroying about 140 tonnes of food with diesel - leaving the innocent lorry drivers terrified that their vehicles would be set alight.

The farmers are believed to have carried out the attack in protest at their livelihoods being hit by low food prices in France, which they blame on cheap foreign imports.

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Over the past week, striking French farmers angry at cheap imports have repeatedly challenged any foreign food lorries passing through northern France.

But ironically the fish spoiled in this incident had actually been caught by a French trawler.

Driver Gordon Ramsay, 40, from Invergordon, revealed how he had to fend off up to eight French farmers, who tried to forcefully seize his documents.

Mr Ramsay, who works for Scots haulage firm J&D Cowper, described the incident as 'a shock'.

'We assumed it was just a friendly protest by the farmers but it turned into something completely different,' he said.

'We couldn't really do much, there were only seven of us. A few of the drivers said they'll just torch the lorries if need be. Two of the other drivers tried to get them off me.

'I grappled with six to eight farmers. They had a hold of me to try and get my documents. My left arm is sore, but that's it.

'They didn't understand why there were Scottish lorries. We tried to tell them it was French fish, from a French boat, for a French market. Buy all the seven loads just got emptied onto the road.

'At one point I wasn't sure if I was going to make home. I didn't want to have to call home and tell them that something like that was happening while I was just trying to do my job.'

The farmers are continuing their protests despite the French government pledging almost £780 million in support.

They claim they are losing out as a result of cheaper foreign imports which is having an effect on their profits.

Yesterday farmers blockaded the Mont Saint-Michel causeway and roads leading to the Alps, warning of further action over the weekend.

James Cowper, assistant transport manager for J&D Cowper, said the firm were unlikely to complain to the Scottish or French governments beca

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[NewsFeed]

More than 40 migrants seen stowing away on a train to Britain this month

Men squatted in freight train carriage via Channel Tunnel to Folkestone

Britain's 'national crisis' in Calais said to cost the country £750,000 a day

Earlier this week 80 migrants were caught by police after arriving on trains

Squatting in an empty freight train carriage, illegal migrants take advantage of the chaos at Calais caused by French strikes to catch a ride to the UK.

More than 40 young men were pictured stowing away on a train as it made its 31-mile journey via the Channel Tunnel to Folkestone overnight earlier this month.

It came as the Freight Transport Association warned that the situation in Calais was now a ‘national crisis’ for Britain which costs £750,000 a day.

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A perfect storm of wildcat strikes by French lorry drivers, growing numbers of migrants, protests by French farmers over food prices and the great summer getaway has caused mayhem at the port.

With security guards and the border police struggling to cope with the situation, migrants desperate to reach Britain have started jumping aboard empty carriages.

It is not known whether the 40 men were intercepted, but earlier this week 80 illegal migrants were caught by police after arriving on the trains.

A source told a newspaper: ‘The last incident happened on Monday, pretty much where the train gets into the UK. There were about 80 just sat there.

‘When it stopped the police came down and picked them up. They shouldn’t be sending trains through with immigrants on them.

‘Some have fallen off and died. It seems to happen on a lot of the nights. People need to know it is happening.’

John Keefe, from tunnel operator Eurotunnel, said ‘handfuls’ were now getting through rather than more earlier in the month. But Tory MP Philip Davies said: ‘These people are ingenious. They are going to find any way to get into this country. The authorities need to be one step ahead.’

And fellow Tory MP Andrew Percy added: ‘This is unacceptable. The authorities in Calais need to get a grip or stop sending the trains at all.’ Strikes by hundreds of French lorry drivers have backed up traffic and caused severe delays in Kent and northern France.

As no freight can get through to be loaded on to the carriages, they’re left empty, although the trains still depart for Britain at a rate of up to four an hour.

Operation Stack – in which freight traffic is forced to queue on sections of the M20 when cross-Channel services are disrupted – will continue until at least tomorrow, according to Kent police.

The Freight Transport Association’s deputy chief executive James Hookham said that the value of goods lost and the cost to business had turned the situation into a ‘national crisis’.

‘This is the country’s GDP and exports standing still in these horrendous queues caused by the situation in Calais,’ he said.

‘It is simply not acceptable that industrial action in France can cause such chaos which is i

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[NewsFeed]

THE chaos in Calais is costing UK businesses £750,000 a day as truckers find themselves stranded by strikes and migrant invasions, industry chiefs have revealed.

Tailbacks in Kent and Calais caused by the halting of ferry and Eurotunnel train services are a “national problem,” the Freight Transport Association said.

At its peak, Kent Police’s Operation Stack saw 7,000 lorries stranded on the M20 during the ferry blockade in France. The FTA yesterday called for Calais to be made a “strike-free zone” in a bid to protect the supply route in and out of the UK.

FTA deputy chief executive James Hookham said: “Operation Stack is not just an issue for Kent and the South-east of England but a serious national strategic problem. It is simply not acceptable that industrial action in France can cause such chaos which is impacting on the British economy.

Calais has to be made a strike-free zone so cross-Channel traffic can start moving again.” The Road Haulage Association said the industry urgently needed a solution to the strikes that have been occurring in Calais, and to the threat posed to truckers and their loads by migrants.

It appears that the tunnel is being laid siege to by many hundreds of people desperate to get to Britain

Richard Burnett, of the Road Hauliers Association, called for “swift and dramatic” action to end the crisis. He has previously appealed for the French military to be deployed to the area.

He said: “It appears that the tunnel is being laid siege to by many hundreds of people desperate to get to Britain.

Tragically, migrants are being killed and our members are being subject to a daily gauntlet of intimidation and long, expensive delays.” The transport bosses made their pleas on the same day Eurotunnel revealed that train services from France were being disrupted by nightly incursions by “hundreds” of migrants.

Spokesman John Keefe said: “We’re dealing with people traffickers working together to create diversions. It’s well-organised, co-ordinated activity.”

The crisis in Calais has been worsening over the summer, with more than 8,000 attempts by migrants to sneak into Britain being intercepted in just three weeks during June and July.

read full article at source: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/593...ants-smuggling

[Ian Smith son]

British families are facing huge delays leaving for France because illegal immigrants from North Africa invaded the Channel tunnel last night. Five thousand migrants are now camped in Northern

France, and attack the UK border fences every night in the hope of getting to the British mainland.

For those hoping to cross the English Channel the border is located in two small areas of UK territory: the Port of Calais and at the Channel Tunnel terminal, both of which are on the French side. Last night’s

incursion into the Channel tunnel was so serious that it was closed altogether to stop illegals getting through it. The tunnel is served by trains which cars drive aboard, the size and speed of the trains are such that the company cannot risk having any obstructions.

The immigrants keep breaking through to both the Port and the Tunnel despite the UK having re-enforced the border with the 'ring of steel' used to protect the NATO summit in Wales last year. The fencing

had been approved by the US Secret Service as strong enough to protect the president, but it is still proving no match for the increasingly desperate immigrants.

Illegal Immigrant Border Siege Spells Misery for UK School Holidays - Andre Walker

[NewsFeed]

LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) - Eurotunnel said on Sunday it had resumed "normal service" and British police said they had lifted traffic management measures around the Channel Tunnel after migrants in France disrupted travel on Saturday.

But ferry operator DFDS Seaways said it had suspended its Dover-Calais service "until further notice" because it had no access to the port of Calais. DFDS said the problem was caused by striking ferry workers. It urged passengers to use its Dover-Dunkirk service instead, saying it was laying on an extra boat.

Wider disruption, caused by migrants, ended, however. On Saturday - one of the busiest of the year for British holidaymakers - trains passing through the Channel Tunnel were delayed after migrants trying to stow away on lorries approached the tracks.

Such disruption has become common since some 5,000 migrants, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, set up camp around the northern French port, which they use as a staging post to try to board train and ferry services to Britain.

John Keefe, a spokesman for Eurotunnel, said crossings were back to normal on Sunday because of reduced migrant activity. All customers who had wanted to travel had been able to do so with very few delays, Keefe said.

But he warned that further disruption was possible in coming days because of the sheer number of migrants gathered in Calais, who timed their attempts to get into Britain with the flow of trucks and freight.

"We need more support from the authorities, particularly in France, to stop the flow of migrants and remove those already in the area," he said.

British police, who had enforced far-reaching traffic management measures involving the closure of parts of the M20 motorway, said they had ended what they had called "Operation Stack" and that the road was open again.

The Eurostar passenger train service was also functioning as normal. (Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Larry King)

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[NewsFeed]

Emergency police plan Operation Stack has seen M20 turn into lorry park

Residents of neighbouring villages blighted by constant gridlock and jams

It is estimated that the operation is costing Kent economy £1.5million a day

Businesses losing money as customers are prevented from visiting towns

It used to be a quiet corner of Kent, but not even the tranquil village of Sellindge on the North Downs is immune from the chaos engulfing Calais.

Operation Stack, an emergency police plan, has seen sections of the M20 turned into a lorry park whenever the situation in the French town spirals out of control.

The aim is to stagger the flow of trucks entering the Dover port or the Channel Tunnel terminal, but for those in Sellindge and the other villages around Ashford, it is making their lives a misery.

Such is the traffic gridlock, that residents have effectively been confined to their homes – in some cases even missing vital hospital appointments.

Meanwhile, local businesses have been hit as the blocked roads keep regular customers away. This is not to mention the disruption caused by the arrival of thousands of lorry drivers.

It has been estimated that the operation, which has been in place on 21 days in the past three months, has already cost the Kent economy in the region of £31.5million pounds so far this year – £1.5million a day.

In Sellindge, which lies just off the M20, daily life has become a struggle for the residents and businesses now living with the fallout of the Calais farce.

Alison Lang, 48, who works at the Duke’s Head pub in the village and lives in Ashford said it had been ‘a nightmare’ since the operation began.

She said the pub had been besieged by hundreds of lorry drivers and holidaymakers needing the toilet after being stuck on the motorway for hours.

‘The car park is full of caravans and camper vans and they all come in to use the toilet and then leave again,’ she said. ‘No one can make their reservations because of the traffic so they keep cancelling.

‘But you can’t blame people. It’s not their fault. I just hope they sort things out soon. We had a coach-load of elderly people stuck here the other day as the driver had done too many miles and had to break, but we had nowhere to put them. It’s very sad.’

The pub’s owner, Mandy Moore, 48, added: ‘We’ve had people who had booked tables for lunch and dinner who simply couldn’t get here because of the traffic.

‘Others were turning up over an hour late because of the problem.

‘People are missing hospital and doctors’ appointments and what concerns me is the emergency services. If someone needed urgent medical attention or if there was a fire, I dread to think what could happen.’

Kevin Dryland, 55, who owns the Potten Farm Shop in the village, which includes a pet shop, said his business was ‘really suffering’ and his takings had halved as a result of the traffic jams.

‘On Saturday, there was a three-hour delay in the village and the queue went right back to the slip roa

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[NewsFeed]

Foreign Office urging holidaymakers to take alternative route from Europe

Calais was plunged into further chaos today after flares were fired at a ferry

Francois Hollande has thrown support behind protesting French farmers

French president spoke as farmers blocked 300 lorries from importing food

British holidaymakers were given an official warning yesterday to avoid Calais after militant French workers fired a distress flare at a ferry.

And Britons heading back to this country were urged to find an alternative route home.

Anyone who had to travel through the French port was told to keep their vehicle doors locked because of the ‘large number of illegal migrants’ trying to reach the UK.

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After weeks of disruption to Eurotunnel and ferry services, Home Secretary Theresa May will today hold talks with her French counterparts amid fears the chaos at Calais will escalate over the busy school holidays.

Ministers – under mounting pressure to demand firmer action from the French – are seeking ways to protect travellers from illegal immigrants massed at the port.

Yesterday, scores of families travelling with the ferry company DFDS Seaways had their journey to Calais re-routed to Dunkirk, almost 30 miles away.

DFDS said that because of safety concerns for passengers and staff, it was not willing to sail from Calais. This followed an alarming incident in which a distress flare hit one of the company’s vessels.

It is the latest trouble caused by striking French ferry workers at the Eurotunnel terminal, which has seen Channel Tunnel services suspended. Motorists have faced long queues, as well as the threat of migrants trying to clamber into their vehicles.

Meanwhile, on the British side, drivers in Kent have faced gridlock on the roads because of Operation Stack on the M20, where police effectively turn the motorway into a lorry park.

It has been shut coast-bound at least 20 times over the past three months as lorries queued.

The new Foreign Office travel warning, issued yesterday morning, instructed anybody travelling to France to check with their operator to make sure the crossing was still going ahead.

And it warned those intending to travel home via the port that they may need to find an alternative route.

It said: ‘There is an ongoing possibility of disruption to cross-Channel services as a result of industrial action and migrant activity in and around Calais. Check online with your chosen operator and plan your journey to avoid disruption.

'If you are in returning to the UK from abroad and you have a booking, check online with your operator for more information. You may also wish to consider alternative routes for returning to the UK.’

The warning added: ‘There are large numbers of illegal migrants in and around Calais, who may seek to enter the UK illegally.

‘You should keep vehicle doors locked in slow-moving traffic and secure your vehicle when it is left unattended.’

Yesterday, Tory MEP Timothy Kirkhope sai

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[EDLIE Stampton]

Nothing to see here apart from more spam from jewsfeed,along with the other half dozen spam storys it has just posted.

Operation stack is just a way of dealing with traffic congestion going to the channel tunnel.
They have been doing it for years so fuck knows what agenda they have for highlighting it now.
Without stack you would just have total gridlock.
The M20 would be fucked and the Dartford crossing a few miles from the M20 would be fucked.
That makes the M25 fucked with the knock on effect being London and all the County's surrounding it fucked.
The whole transport system as far as Birmingham would in fact be fucked.

Dartford river crossing have been doing the same thing for decades as has Essex police controlling the thousands of lorry's going to Tilbury docks.
They even operate a similar system for Lakeside shopping centre which is just North of the Dartford crossing and Bluewater which is just South and also just by the M20.

Time to get rid of the zionist spam bot.

[NewsFeed]

Some 2,000 migrants tried to enter the Channel Tunnel terminal in Calais on Monday night in an attempt to reach the UK, operator Eurotunnel has said.

Eurotunnel is facing a daily struggle with migrants who attempt to smuggle themselves into Britain, sometimes with fatal consequences.

"It was the biggest incursion effort in the past month-and-a-half," said a spokesman for Eurotunnel.

The incident caused serious delays to Eurotunnel train services on Tuesday.

Passengers were held up for about an hour on the British side and 30 minutes on the French side, French news agency AFP reports.

The spokesman for Eurotunnel said the migrants were trying to enter the site "between midnight and 6am".

He added: "All our security personnel, that is nearly 200 people, as well as police were called in."

Eight migrants have died this summer trying to enter the Channel Tunnel.

AFP says an official count at the beginning of July found that about 3,000 migrants - mainly from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Afghanistan - were camping in Calais and trying to get across the Channel.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve held talks in London on Tuesday with UK Home Secretary Theresa May on the migrant issue.

Eurotunnel is seeking compensation from the British and French governments for disruption caused by illegal migrants.

read full article at source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33689473

[NewsFeed]

Hundreds more break into Calais terminal in desperate bid to reach Britain

Sudanese man killed after being hit by a truck leaving cross-Channel ferry

UKIP leader Nigel Farage calls on the army to help tackle 'civil emergency'

Theresa May to chair emergency Cobra meeting to address growing crisis

David Cameron promises that the Government 'will do everything we can'

Another 1,500 migrants – including one who was crushed to death by a lorry – stormed the Channel Tunnel in Calais overnight in the latest desperate attempt to reach Britain.

The dead migrant, a Sudanese man in his 20s or early 30s, slipped as he tried to get underneath a train inside the high-security zone surrounding the undersea link.

He was hit by a lorry which was preparing to drive on to the train and is thought to have died instantly, according to a police source in Calais who said hundreds of officers were involved in a second night of massive intrusions.

It comes after 2,200 migrants tried to gain entry to Eurotunnel's French terminal on Monday, causing chaos for holidaymakers and freight traffic on both sides of the Channel.

The escalating crisis has led to calls from UKIP leader Nigel Farage for the army to be drafted in to help search vehicles coming into Britain for illegal immigrants.

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He told LBC: 'In all civil emergencies like this we have an army, we have a bit of a TA and we have a very very overburdened police force and border agency.

'If in a crisis to make sure we've actually got the manpower to check lorries coming in to stop people illegally coming to Britain if in those circumstances we can use the army or other forces then why not.'

His calls were backed by Don Armour, the head of international affairs at the Freight Transport Association.

He BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight programme: 'They're trained and they would know what to do.

'It may not be the way forward that would be approved.

'But perhaps it could be one of a number of solutions that the government might like to consider because we could be talking about people's lives.'

Prime Minister David Cameron has promised that the Government 'will do everything we can' to improve the situation.

Home Secretary Theresa May has also announced that Britain had agreed to provide an extra £7million towards security as she prepared to chair an emergency Cobra civil contingency committee to deal with the growing crisis.

The latest fatality brings the number of migrants who died near the Channel Tunnel terminal site to nine since June.

A spokesman for Eurotunnel said: 'Our team found a corpse this morning and the firefighters have confirmed the death of this person.'

At least 2,200 illegal migrants also tried to storm the Channel Tunnel on Monday night in a bid to reach Britain from France.

In one of the worst security breaches in the history of the undersea link, huge gangs broke through security fencing in Calais in the early hours.

A French police source described the scene

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read full article at source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...stowaways.html

[NewsFeed]

CALAIS CRISIS: THERESA MAY ANNOUNCES £7MILLION SECURITY BOOST

Britain has agreed to provide an extra £7million towards efforts to tackle the Calais migrant crisis, Theresa May has announced.

The money will be used to step up security at the Channel Tunnel railhead in Coquelles.

Earlier this week it was reported that police were being called to the terminal, which is close to Calais, on a nightly basis to deal with incursions by hundreds of migrants.

The Home Secretary disclosed the extra funding following a meeting between British and French officials to discuss the continuing disruption.

She said: 'We've had a very constructive meeting. The French and UK governments are working in close collaboration and cooperation on this issue which affects us both.

'We are both clear that we need to ensure we are dealing with the terrible criminal gangs, the people smugglers, who are making a profit out of the human misery of many people.'

Mrs May said French authorities have committed extra resources to security at Calais.

Asked why British taxpayers should be paying for a problem taking place on French soil, she said: 'We have juxtaposed controls at the border. We work together on dealing with this particular problem.'

The Home Secretary said she was 'very aware' of the impact of the crisis on lorry drivers, those affected by delays and the people of Kent.

An excerpt from a communique following today's conference said: 'The UK and France agree it is vital we deal with the continuous migration of people from countries of origin. Both countries have agreed to work together on returning migrants to their countries of origin, particularly in West Africa.'

Earlier this month the Home Secretary announced that a new secure zone will be created at Calais for UK-bound lorries in response to an unprecedented surge in migrants attempting to cross the Channel.

The area will cost around two million euros (£1.4 million) and is expected to be complete in the autumn.

Last autumn the Government pledged £12m to help France tackle the problem of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the Channel.

CHAOS AT CALAIS BRINGS ISSUE OF MIGRANTS INTO SHARP FOCUS

What are the issues?

For years, the name Sangatte represented the contrast between the decadence and splendour of France's capital, and the destitute communes which became home to refugees at the gateway to Britain.

The camps at Sangatte, which overlooked the Channel, were closed in 2002 after riots. Although the camps and the name are long gone, the problem of refugees remains.

For years migrants have camped out near the port of Calais, hoping to get to Britain in search of a better life.

But after strikes by French ferry workers caused the closure of the Channel Tunnel the situation descended into chaos, with migrants openly trying to board lorries bound for the UK as they wait to cross the Channel.

The latest act of desperation saw 2,000 migrants attempt to storm the Channel tunnel on Monday night and b

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read full article at source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti..._campaign=1490

[NewsFeed]

Britain and France have agreed a deal to step up removals of Calais migrants to Africa in what Theresa May, the Home Secretary, described as an “important step forward”.

Mrs May said that after a meeting with Bernard Cazeneuve, the French interior minster, there will be new moves to repatriate would-be illegal immigrants who currently gather in their thousands in make-shift camps outside the French port.

Britain will also spend a further £7 million improving security at the Eurotunnel at Coquelles, northern France, she said.

Although there were no details on how the repatriation scheme will work, any moves by the French to remove the migrants from France will mark a significant change in policy.

The French authorities have previously been criticised by MPs and some hauliers for simply freeing migrants who have been detained, allowing them to have another chance at making it to Britain.

Theresa May, the Home Secretary

Mrs May said: “We have had a constructive meeting with Bernard Cazeneuve and we have agreed on further work to ensure we can return migrants particularly to West Africa, so we can help break the link between people making the perilous journey and thinking they can live in Britain.

"It's an important step forward."

Following the Anglo-French summit in London with Mr Cazeneuve and his officials, the two countries will also put more intelligence officers, police and other law enforcement agents on the ground in Calais to crack down on organised criminal gangs involved in people smuggling, she said.

It came as Eurotunnel announced that thousands of migrants stormed the French side of the Channel Tunnel in just one night this week.

Eurotunnel's premises were targeted by 2,000 illegal immigrants overnight on Monday in a bid to reach Britain, a spokesman for the company said.

"There were

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read full article at source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...to-Africa.html

[NewsFeed]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=rRQJNTGcuzs#t=95
read full article at source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...QJNTGcuzs#t=95

[NewsFeed]

CHAOS AT CALAIS BRINGS ISSUE OF MIGRANTS INTO SHARP FOCUS

What are the issues?

For years, the name Sangatte represented the contrast between the decadence and splendour of France's capital, and the destitute communes which became home to refugees at the gateway to Britain.

The camps at Sangatte, which overlooked the Channel, were closed in 2002 after riots. Although the camps and the name are long gone, the problem of refugees remains.

For years migrants have camped out near the port of Calais, hoping to get to Britain in search of a better life.

But after strikes by French ferry workers caused the closure of the Channel Tunnel the situation descended into chaos, with migrants openly trying to board lorries bound for the UK as they wait to cross the Channel.

The latest act of desperation saw 2,000 migrants attempt to storm the Channel tunnel on Monday night and become stowaways. Those who didn't find a vehicle would have faced a day-long pilgrimage to Britain.

It prompted Home Secretary Theresa May to pledge £7 million to tackle the Calais migrant crisis.

Why do they want to come to the UK in the first place?

The promise of a better life in Britain - and a chance of education, employment and safety - is what has driven many people from their homes in the first place.

The huge camps at Calais are part of a wider migration crisis in Europe, caused largely by a widespread displacement of people from war-torn countries such as Eritrea, Syria and Afghanistan, where people are fleeing hunger, civil war and political instability.

Many migrants are also coming from North Africa, making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean - journeys often organised by criminal gangs and people-traffickers - to Italy.

The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) believes this route is the biggest threat to increased illegal immigration - use of the route rose by more than 300% in 2014 and is set to increase. It is estimated that more than 1,600 people have drowned so far this year trying to make the crossing.

What is the situation doing for Anglo-French relations?

Britain and France appear to be at loggerheads over how to deal with the issue.

David Cameron called the scenes at Calais which led to the Channel Tunnel being shut recently 'totally unacceptable', but said it was important to work with the French and there was 'no point either side trying to point the finger of blame'.

The British Government's offer of more funds to tackle the problem will have gone some way to soothing any tensions between the two nations, and an admission the burden is shared.

Mrs May said: 'We've had a very constructive meeting. The French and UK governments are working in close collaboration and cooperation on this issue which affects us both.'

What about the wider migrant crisis?

According to the Home Office there have been 39,000 attempts to cross the Channel by migrants in the year to April 2015, more than twice the 18,000 attempts detected in the 12 months to April

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read full article at source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...is-crisis.html

[Ian Smith son]

Someone's going to die: British trucker reveals drivers are being stabbed and beaten by desperate gangs of migrants forming road blocks at Calais to stop lorries and board them

Tommy Harrison said migrant threat is now at crisis point for lorry drivers

Said friend recently suffered cracked ribs and broken eye socket in attack

There are about 3,000 migrants in Calais - 2,000 have arrived since April

Many truckers are taking long detours to cross the Channel to avoid Calais

A British truck driver claims his colleagues have been attacked and stabbed by 'intimidating' gangs of migrants in Calais.

Tommy Harrison said the migrant issue in Calais reached crisis point two years ago - but he has noticed a recent escalation and said one driver was severely wounded recently at the French port.

Some truckers are taking long detours to cross the Channel to avoid Calais, where aid workers describe 'catastrophic' scenes after 2,000 migrants have arrived since April.

Read more: British trucker reveals drivers are being stabbed by migrants at Calais | Daily Mail Online

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