[minowz]

Home > Breaking News > World > Story
Sep 22, 2009
Crackdown on migrants hailed


French riot police block would-be-immigrants as they dismantle the makeshift tent camp known as "the Jungle" which is used as a base to launch risky attempts to get across the Channel to Britain, in Calais, northern France. -- PHOTO: AFP

LONDON - BRITAIN hailed Tuesday a 'decisive' French crackdown on a makeshift camp known as the 'Jungle,' used as a base for mainly Afghan migrants to try to reach Britain. 'I welcome the swift and decisive steps that the French government has taken today to close the 'jungle' in Calais, action which will disrupt illegal immigration and people trafficking routes,' said Home Secretary Alan Johnson. 'It is a clear signal that France is honouring the agreement... to build even stronger controls at the Calais border with the UK,' he added in a statement. The comments came after French riot police moved in to clear the Calais camp. French government official Pierre de Bousquet de Florian said 278 people were detained in the operation.

Minor scuffles broke out between police, some with truncheons, and a few dozen activists who set up a human chain around the migrants. The British minister pledged continuing support for the French action, saying UK Border Agency officers 'already work day and night alongside the French authorities to secure the border at Calais'. 'The UK has agreed a significant further investment to pay for new technology as part of a hi-tech pilot in Calais,' he added. 'The UK is committed to removing foreign nationals with no right to be in the UK,' said Johnson, adding that 28,000 individual attempts to cross the Channel were stopped last year, while one million lorries were searched. -- AFP