Immigration shambles: France considers scrapping border treaty which could see illegal incomers QUADRUPLE
Nov 2, 2014
If Le Touquet Treaty is cancelled and the UK border moved back across the Channel, the notorious Calais migrant camps could end up in DOVER
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The number of illegal immigrants entering Britain could quadruple because a vital agreement with France is under threat.
A government whistleblower here has revealed that “furious” French chiefs are thinking about scrapping the Le Touquet Treaty which effectively moved the UK border across the Channel.
The deal, signed in 2003, allows British border officials to be stationed at ferry terminals in France.
But there has been a breakdown in relations between the Home Office and counterparts in France’s Interior Ministry, the source has revealed.
French officials are angry that the treaty has turned Calais into a dumping ground for migrants.
It is feared that abolishing the agreement could result in the notorious migrant camps that have blighted the French town being set up in Dover.
The highly-placed whistleblower said: “If this deal is scrapped it would be a complete disaster for our border control.”
Squalor: Makeshift camp close to the port of Calais
Our relationship with French officials has hit rock bottom since under fire Home Secretary Theresa May scrapped the UK Border Agency last year, the source added.
Desperate asylum seekers in Calais today welcomed the bombshell that British border officials could be pulled out of the town.
Adnan Khan, 25, is living in a makeshift camp known as The Jungle less than a mile from the port.
The computing graduate said: “If there are less British border officials in Calais, of course it will make it easier for some people to get across to England.
“The French have never liked having the British on their soil and I am sure wouldn’t care if we made it to Britain.
“They would rather that we were in Dover than in Calais.”
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Adnan said he was forced to flee Pakistan because of the threat of the Taliban and US drone strikes which killed his family by accident.
Another of the migrants, Amir Shahid, 30, said: “I hope the British will withdraw their border to Dover and give us a chance of getting through.
“We are not all scroungers looking to live on benefits. Many of us are educated and want to find work and pay taxes.”
The electronics engineering graduate, from Pakistan’s tribal North Waziristan region, added: “Things have become much more difficult in Calais recently. The police are being much more aggressive and are racist, not like in England.
“I have seen them pepper-spraying a pregnant woman. And if they catch you trying to get into the ferry port they will beat you very hard.”
Around 2,500 refugees are living rough in Calais and many risk their lives on a daily basis in their bid to get to England by smuggling themselves into trucks or cars bound for the ferry port.
Reuters
Chase: French police follow migrants at the ferry terminal in Calais
The treaty – thrashed out by David Blunkett when he was the Home Secretary – was a major coup for the Labour government.
When giving evidence to the Commons’ Home Affairs Select Committee last week, the Mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, was supportive of moving Britain’s frontier to Dover.
A French government spokesman confirmed to the Mirror that Ms Bouchart met Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to “discuss her proposals”.
Britain’s immigration shambles was exposed last week after a damning report by MPs revealed how Ms May’s department had lost track of 50,000 illegal immigrants.
The Home Office had also failed to kick out another 175,000 illegal immigrants and the backlog continues the grow, the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee revealed.
It is understood that Ms Bouchart’s border views reflect the private concerns of France’s Interior Ministry which wants to be rid of the thousands of migrants in their port towns.
The French have been “furious for years about how the treaty has panned out”, according to the whistleblower.
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The source added: “The Interior Ministry is carrying out a private review to explore the option of removing all UK border officials out of northern France.
“Our border, which is effectively at Calais at the moment, would then become Dover.
“The advantage of having border staff at Calais and Dunkirk is that illegal immigrants can be turned back before they can reach the UK.
"But as soon as an illegal reaches UK soil they can then claim asylum in this country, which would be an enormous problem if the frontier is moved back to Dover.”
The insider added that the treaty led to the number of asylum seekers falling from around 80,000 in 2003 to roughly 18,000 by 2007.
“It has now crept back up to around 25,000, and it is thought this number would quadruple should border officials be removed from Calais and Dunkirk,” the source said.
Today there was a strong police presence in Calais including vans filled with riot officers.
Mum-of-three Aster Gebremedhn, 25, arrived in the Jungle two months ago having left her children and husband behind in their homeland, Eritrea.
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Speaking in broken English and on the verge of tears, she said: “I don’t understand what is happening here.
“All I know is that no one wants us and it is very, very hard to find a lorry or car to hide in to get to England.
“But I must try. My mother lives in England and says it is a very good place to live and that I should live there too.
“My dream is to live in England and for my children to join me.”
Calais’s mayor said last week that the migrants in the area were “willing to die” to take advantage of British social security benefits.
Officials have also described how the migrants in the makeshift tent villages have caused chaos in the town, with attacks on citizens on the rise.
Labour MP Mr Blunkett said today: “The treaty and subsequent agreement to place intelligence and security staff with immigration officers on French soil was vital to stemming the flood of clandestine entry into Britain.
“If we did not have UK officials on French soil there would be nothing to stop people making their way to Britain and then seeking refuge or disappearing into the sub-economy.”
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Ms May’s leadership on immigration has been “poor at best”, according to the government whistleblower.
The source said: “She relies heavily on special advisors, without having a real grasp of the issues herself.
“The breakup of the UK Border Agency was a disaster for managing our borders. It was a political move and has placed what was an independent executive agency into the hands of the politicians.”
The agency was closed down after a report blamed it for an asylum claims backlog.
On abolishing the organisation, Ms May split it into two main branches – the UK Visas and Immigration department, and Border Force – and returned its work to the Home Office.
Last month Mayor Bouchart threatened to block the port of Calais if the British did not send “a strong signal” to help cope with the influx of migrants.
A British tourist, who visited the town in July, said: “It’s like nothing I have seen in Europe. People have nothing more than the clothes on their back.”
Britain and France recently signed an agreement to “relieve migratory pressure” in Calais. This included Britain giving the French £11.7million over three years to improve security in the area.
A French Interior Ministry spokesman said: “Britain and France are united in their efforts to solve the problems associated with illegal immigration.”
Meanwhile fears over an increased influx of asylum-seekers into the UK via Calais were further heightened today with news that the port is set to open a new "welcome centre" for them within days.
The French government is today due to sign a contract with a charity to open the Jules Ferry centre, two miles north of Calais, to offer "food, warmth and healthcare" to migrants.
It will be based at a former children’s holiday centre near a German Second World War coastal base.
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It has been dubbed ‘‘the new Sangatte’’ after the Red Cross refugee centre in Calais which closed in 2002 amid rioting.
Philippe Mignonet, the deputy mayor of Calais, is among many who fear it will become the new Sangatte.
He said: "Some are saying that it will and we can’t do anything because Calais is already a magnet. Well, Calais is not. England is.
“It was the same problem with Sangatte at the beginning. It was working well but it’s the number of migrants which causes problems, not the migrants themselves. It could become a problem again at the new centre.
"I am not saying it will, but it could.”
He said that rehousing migrants around France would not work as “they are back in Calais within a week”.
The date the centre will be opened is due to be announced today by French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve in Calais. It is thought that British immigration officials will be based in the camp to advise on asylum applications.
Mr Cazeneuve’s trip is in response to growing local concerns about the number of migrants in the town, which in August saw many fighting battles on the streets.
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He said he was going to Calais "to show the basic minimum that the state is offering to ensure the smooth operation of the welcome centre".
Jean-Marie Alexandre, president of La Vie Active (Active Living), the charity behind the scheme, said: "It’s a risk that we’re taking, above all for our reputation. In this matter, we have more to lose than we have to gain."
The centre will house up to 500 people in pre-fabricated single-storey buildings.
Comment: Tory failure on borders
By David Hanson, Shadow Immigration Secretary
"The UK needs strong and effective border control. It is one of the key jobs of any Government to ensure this happens.
That’s why in 2003 Labour ministers signed a treaty with France that lets the UK maintain border staff there – to make sure people who don’t have a right to be in the UK are stopped before they cross the Channel.
So these allegations that the deal we signed could be cancelled because of the Home Secretary’s incompetence are astounding.
Theresa May has had four years in the job. But it seems she has spent that time ignoring and infuriating one of our closest allies, and so putting at risk the security of our borders.
It is vital that we have a British presence in France because we know it is one of the most likely routes for illegal immigrants.
People who are genuinely fleeing from the horrors of war, rape and torture have legal ways to enter Britain and apply for asylum.
But as the recent situation in Calais has shown, there are a lot of people who want to avoid doing things legally, and who will try to storm lorries, coaches and cars instead.
A British presence in France is crucial if we are to prevent this.
If reports are true, this crucial deal is not ending because the Government has come up with a better idea. Instead it is because of the complete shambles that is taking place in the Home Office on Theresa May’s watch.
Her lack of effort to build relationships in Europe and to pay attention to the details could well prove disastrous.
It is not good enough and shows how this Government is failing on immigration.
Labour signed this important treaty. It seems only Labour can succeed in maintaining strong borders to keep our communities safe."
