Meanwhile, the UK and France have urged other EU nations to help address the root causes of the Calais migrant crisis.
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“It is a priority at both a European and global level”.
“Many of those in Calais and attempting to cross the Channel have made their way there through Italy, Greece or other countries”, they said.
The Prime Minister’s words were also criticised by Andy Burnham, the Labour leadership candidate and the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron.
The migrant crush at the Chunnel, linking France and England, puts a spotlight on Europe’s migration crisis. The mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, stated that it is UK’s labor laws to blame, given that employment is possible without identification in Britain.
A section of the M20 motorway has been closed to facilitate “Operation Stack”, which has seen up to 6,000 lorries line up in the routes approaching the English Channel, disrupting passenger traffic heading towards the coast.
France this week sent 120 additional police officers to the northern port city to stem the crisis.
Reports from Calais on Saturday indicated that the situation had calmed down, with French security appearing to have ramped up their numbers in areas where migrants attempt to board trains and lorries.
The Freight Transport Association estimates that the crisis is costing hauliers £700,000 a day.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the economic impact of the crisis was “disproportionately severe in Scotland” costing seafood firms millions of pounds a week and placing future orders in jeopardy. “Together, we are now returning 200 migrants every month who have no right to asylum”.
“We are here to make it clear to the migrants that many people here would welcome them and that the way they are being treated is not in our name”, said Bridget Chapman, organizer of the pro-migrant demo. Peter Sutherland, the UN Secretary-General’s special representative on worldwide migration, said: “Many of those in Calais are refugees, just as the Jewish people were in 1939”.
“For those who have no alternative but to travel through Calais, the threat of violence and harassment from migrants, intent on reaching the UK, is unacceptable”, said the RHA.
The migrants, coming mostly from Syria, Eritrea, Somalia and Afghanistan, are fighting to get across the channel and into the UK for a variety of reasons-many are seeking jobs, or asylum-but all who come do so because it is statistically easier to remain legally in the UK than it is in France.
Several people have been killed trying to enter Britain, where they believe they have better prospects of a new life.
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Peter Oakford, cabinet member for specialist children’s services at Kent county council, said: “I felt at last there was some recognition that this was a national issue and the government is prepared to work with us on this”.
