Prime Minister David Cameron says the UK government will do everything it can to combat migrant crisis in Calais
After 1,500 migrants tried to reach the UK via the Channel Tunnel, David Cameron has warned he is “very concerned” by the growing Calais crisis.
Speaking as the UK confirmed an extra £7m in funding for new fencing at the Channel Tunnel in France, Cameron said he felt sympathy for British holidaymakers and that the situation was not satisfactory. The Prime Minister said:
This is very concerning. We are working very closely with the French. We have invested money in the fencing around Calais, including fencing around the entrance to the tunnel.
We are doing everything we can. We know how important this is.
The Prime Minister was speaking at a joint press conference with Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minster of Singapore, during his four-day south-east Asia tour.
At the press conference Cameron said home secretary Theresa May would chair a meeting of Cobra, the government’s emergency committee, about the crisis. This takes place after French police reported one person was found dead.
The £7m in funding will help pay for 1.2 miles of new fencing at Coquelles, the Eurotunnel site, and is expected to be completed this week.
This comes after Eurotunnel made claims the French and British authorises were not doing enough to address the problem.
Eurotunnel also said this is almost a nightly occurrence, which has become worse as migrants from the Mediterranean make their way north in attempts to claim asylum in the UK.