Led by one British and one French senior commander, they will work alongside their French counterparts in a “Command and Control Centre”, the ministry said ahead of May’s visit to the ferry port.
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Britain and France were to announce a new “command and control centre” today for tackling smuggling gangs in Calais, where thousands of migrants desperate to cross the Channel are living in slum-like conditions.
British Home Secretary Theresa May and French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve visited the tunnel Thursday announced plans for a “substantial” increase of security guards, higher fences, surveillance cameras, floodlighting and infrared detection technology.
The two countries will work together to dismantle smuggling networks and prosecute those responsible, the Home Office said.
New measures include increased French police numbers and British-funded fencing, CCTV and other security equipment to protect the tunnel entrance in Calais, the Home Office said.
The government has already pledged £20 million over the past year to improve defences around the port of Calais and the Eurotunnel terminal after an unprecedented wave of incursions by those attempting to reach the UK.
They aim to convince the migrants, most of whom are fleeing war, poverty and persecution, that Britain “is not a land of milk and honey” in terms of access to benefits and the NHS, said Immigration Minister James Brokenshire.
And the number of migrants arriving in debt-crippled Greece is accelerating dramatically, with almost 21,000 landing on the overstretched Greek islands last week alone, the United Nations said.
The French government has come under criticism for not doing enough to help the migrants in Calais, most of whom live in crude self-made shelters.
She said that among the proposals was the “enforcement of security to stop migrants crossing the border to the UK”, a measure which she described as a “breach of worldwide law”, and of the “right” of people to live in any country they wished.
An estimated 5,000 asylum seekers displaced from countries including Syria, Libya and Eritrea are now camped out and sleeping rough in the notorious “Jungle” camp in Calais.
The crisis in Calais has receded since its peak earlier in the summer.
However, he added: “We must be aware of the dangers of the domino principle”.
The Government has opened talks with officials in the Netherlands and Belgium as authorities turn their attention to security at other potential entry points.
Mr Cazeneuve is expected to subsequently leave Calais and travel to Germany to discuss EU migration policies with his German counterpart.
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It also marked the first time more than 100,000 migrants have entered the EU in a single month since records began in 2008.
