Calais: migrant scenes ‘totally unacceptable’ – Cameron

The prime minister said Britain had to work with France and there was “no point either side trying to point the finger of blame”.

He told MPs migrants must be better documented and fingerprinted, but “a lot of that needs to happen in Italy where they land”. He said it was important to “break the link” between migrants boarding a boat and heading for Europe, as well as making it tougher for illegal immigrants heading to Britain.

Services through the Channel Tunnel are returning to normal after the disruption caused by striking French ferry workers.

The tunnel was shut yesterday when the workers broke in and migrants attempted to board UK-bound lorries. Migrants were seen this morning at the side of the motorway in Calais while others were spotted opening the back doors of lorries stuck in traffic.

Last night Paraic O’Brien joined French police as they searched the lorries stuck in the bottle-neck traffic.

Eurotunnel said that its passenger and freight shuttles were running as scheduled through the tunnel while high-speed train company Eurostar was operating a full service from London through the tunnel to Paris and Brussels. The port of Calais is open and ferries are operating to and from Dover.

Worsening migrant situation

The travel problems yesterday coincided with a worsening migrant situation in Calais, where numbers camped there have swelled to more than 3,000 since April.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said more resources will be put into screening arrivals at Dover, while additional French police officers are being deployed in Calais.

Parts of the M20 in Kent are being used for lorries queuing for the port of Dover following the disruption and will be in place until the backlog of traffic has cleared.

‘Clearer message’

Ukip leader Nigel Farage told LBC radio that Britain “needs to send a clearer message about illegal immigrants because they know they can come to Britain and work in the black market”. He added: “They are unlikely to get caught and if they are caught, they’re very unlikely to get sent back.”

Asked whether the pirme minister was concerned about the French authorities’ response to the situation, Mr Cameron’s official spokeswoman said: “”The French authorities have sent police reinforcements to Calais and the interior ministry assured the home secretary they would do the job.”

Dr Lisa Doyle, from the Refugee Council, said: “David Cameron appears wilfully ignorant that the world is in the grips of one of the gravest refugee crises ever.

“Refugees are running for their lives while their countries burn. Instead of building the walls of fortress Europe higher we should be offering refuge to as many people as possible”

A 90-strong British law enforcement task force is being set up to tackle the criminal gangs behind the migration crisis in the Mediterranean. It will be responsible for pursuing and disrupting the operations of people smugglers paid by desperate migrants hoping to reach Europe.