Immigration: Britain 'is to blame'

New hard-line French immigration minister Eric Besson condemned our lax security at the Channel Tunnel and ferry ports which encouraged thousands to try to enter Britain illegally every year.

Speaking during a crisis visit yesterday to Calais, where some 2,000 British-bound refugees are massed, he said the failure of ministers in this country had created the impression that the UK was somewhere that illegal immigrants could disappear with little prospect of being deported.

Mr Besson said: “Our English partners must apply themselves more actively in the reinforcement of checks and in security in Calais.”

He also pledged he would never allow another Sangatte-style refugee camp as he visited some of the makeshift shelters scattered along the French coast.

He said: “I’ll be meeting my British counterpart over the coming days to discuss this subject precisely. Our English partners want to see controls strictly enforced. Me too.

“I’m therefore going to propose to my British colleague to put in place a common strategy to reinforce the checks and make passage through the Tunnel or by the port the most watertight possible to illegal immigration.”

His comments follow those of a senior French politician, Etienne Pinte, who earlier this month said the UK was solely to blame for the build-up of thousands of migrants in northern France.

He condemned Britain’s “inhumane and illegal” immigration policies which he said had caused “utter misery”.

Mr Pinte said: “Britain is seen as an Eldorado by migrants across the world. It’s up to Great Britain to find a dignified and humane solution to a problem which solely concerns it.”

Yesterday Mr Besson said he was determined to achieve a lasting solution to the “refugee problem”, which had not been solved with the closure of the notorious Red Cross centre at nearby Sangatte in 2002.

He said: “The flow has not dried up but has reduced. It is now necessary to dry it up. I’m not pretending to bring all the answers today.

“After my visit today I’m going to come back after May 1 to bring a certain number of answers.

“But I will say now that is out of the question to reopen a new hostel for immigrants in Calais.

“This would only help the immigrants that are there already to remain there or cross illegally to Britain.

“And it would become a powerful incentive for more immigrants to come there.

“It would also not be a solution to the humanitarian problem. It would be an extra humanitarian problem.”

Last night Shadow Immigration Minister Damian Green said Labour had failed to protect Britain’s borders.

He said: “This shows why we need a border police force.

Former Home Office Minister Ann Widdecombe said: “Until the message gets out that if you come to Britain with a false claim you will be dealt with quickly and deported, there is a tremendous incentive for people to come to Britain.

“We do not have identity cards and we have a flourishing black economy in which people can disappear. Only until we change all of that will the message finally get out.”

Britain’s UK Border Agency has established a huge force of immigration officers and Customs officials in Calais to try to deter illegal immigration. Security guards patrol the port area and the entrance to the Channel Tunnel 24 hours a day.

However hundreds – and possibly thousands – of migrants make it to Britain every month.

The original Sangatte hostel was blamed for becoming a stepping stone to Britain for more than 50,000 refugees over five years.

It was finally bulldozed in 2002 in a joint agreement between Britain and France. Since then, refugee charities have provided food and clothing to bedraggled immigrants in Calais but have not given them overnight shelter.

Hundreds now live in filthy conditions in a woodland shanty town near the ferry port called “the jungle”. The appalling conditions and fighting over food have triggered frequent clashes between rival immigrant gangs and police.

A London journalist was raped by an Afghan refugee last year after visiting the camp to write a story. Last night the Home Office said it was working with France to crack down on illegal immigration.

Last night a UK Border Agency spokesman said: “We will continue to work with France – one of our closest partners – in fighting illegal migration. Our shared determination has already created one of the toughest border crossings in the world at Calais.

“In the last five years we have stopped over 88,500 attempts from people trying to enter the UK illegally. Around 61,000 of those were at Calais alone.

“Alongside the French authorities, we remain firmly opposed to any accommodation centre that would attract illegal immigrants and the traffickers who prey on them.

“If they are fleeing persecution they should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach. Accommodation centres only act as a further draw.”