Security measures around the Channel Tunnel are to be stepped up after Britain and France agreed a package including extra private security guards, French police reinforcements, additional fences and more CCTV surveillance.
The measures were agreed following a phone conversation between David Cameron and President Francois Hollande on Friday, when the British Prime Minister warned disruption at the French port town could go on all summer.
Labour have accused Mr Cameron of being slow to react to the chaos in Calais, where as many as 5,000 migrants living in a tent city have laid siege to the Channel Tunnel terminal in the hope of finding a way to the UK.
Acting leader Harriet Harman wrote to the PM urging him to demand compensation from France for hauliers, businesses and holidaymakers affected by the crisis. She said his action so far had been “devoid of any serious solution” and he should have been putting more pressure on Paris to get a grip on the situation.
“You have failed to initiate any diplomatic pressure on the French government to assess asylum claims and make sure proper immigration procedures are followed,” she told the PM. “Instead you have chosen to inflame the situation with incendiary and divisive language, which will serve only to escalate the problem.”
But a Downing Street spokesman responded: “As the PM has said, playing a blame game is not going to offer a solution for anyone. What we are focused on is working closely with the French authorities and taking action to both boost security and reduce disruption for hauliers and businesses. We welcome the French police reinforcements, which have helped to strengthen security at Eurotunnel.
“We are already pursuing a comprehensive approach to tackling illegal migration into Europe; supporting rescue operations in the Med, disrupting trafficking gangs and working to stabilise the migrants’ home countries.”
“Significant” additional security measures agreed after talks between French and British officials which stretched late into the night following Mr Cameron’s call to the president include:
:: A surge of extra private security guards, funded by the UK, to boost the existing 200-strong team and patrol the perimeter of the Eurotunnel site at Coquelles;
:: An increased presence of French police on the borders throughout the summer;
:: Additional fencing, funded by the UK, to be installed around as much of the Eurotunnel perimeter as required, with higher boundaries and extra layers where necessary and a large metal barrier to protect Eurotunnel platforms;
:: Extra CCTV, infra-red detectors and floodlighting to secure key segments of the perimeter fence.
The Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister is clear he wants to see more security and tougher action at the border, which is what the measures agreed with France overnight are all about. On top of that, we want to help those being affected by the disruption, including securing additional parking zones in Kent to reduce the impact on local residents and businesses.
“This is about a sustained focus on doing what is necessary to deal with this problem now and in the long run.”
Options to relieve traffic back-ups on the M20 motorway under consideration by the Ministry of Defence and Department of Transport are understood to include the use of spare car parking space at Ebbsfleet railway station or the disused Marston airport, as well as increasing capacity on other ferry routes.
The M20 was reopened for normal traffic on Saturday evening after the last lorries being held under Operation Stack procedures were allowed through to the Channel Tunnel and ferry ports.
The operation had seen thousands of lorries parked on the coastbound carriageway for much of the last month.
Ms Harman quoted Freight Transport Association estimates that the crisis is costing hauliers £700,000 a day, while there are further costs for Kent businesses and residents and families trying to travel to the continent.
She told the PM: “It is wrong for UK businesses and families to face these costs given border security failures in France. Your discussions with the French government should therefore include a request for compensation backed up by any diplomatic pressure that may become necessary. Compensation should cover all losses.”
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon highlighted the impact on the seafood industry north of the border, telling Mr Cameron the crisis was costing firms millions of pounds a week and placing future orders in jeopardy.
In a letter to the PM, Ms Sturgeon said the economic impact of the crisis was “disproportionately severe in Scotland”.
But she stressed: “Our primary concern over the current situation in Calais must be to play our part in addressing the underlying humanitarian issues. Increasing security at the Channel Tunnel, whilst welcome, will only help in the short term, and is not addressing the root cause of the issue.”