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Praise as 'Jungle Camp'shut down
HOME Secretary Alan Johnson has praised the "swift and decisive" actions of the French government after police cleared hundreds of migrants from a large refugee camp in northern France.
About 600 police officers surrounded the notorious "Jungle Camp" at dawn yesterday, rounding up scores of people who had been living in the tent city on the edge of the Channel port of Calais.
There were minor scuffles as the camp dwellers, some in tears, were led away and dozens of protesters who had gathered at the site ahead of the operation began chanting at the police.
As officers moved in, the activists began shouting: "No borders. No nation. No deportation." and about a dozen migrants who were refusing to move were dragged and carried away.
The camp had been home to hundreds of mainly Afghan asylum seekers, many of whom were reported to be hoping to claim residency in the UK.
French officials said the detained adults were taken to various police stations and the children to "special centres".
Sail Pardes, 15, from eastern Afghanistan, was at the camp for six months and hoped to make it across the Channel.
"The most important thing is to get to England," he said. "I want to go to school and become a better person."
Mr Johnson, who represents West Hull and Hessle, said he was "delighted" about its closure and said genuine refugees should apply for asylum in the country where they entered the EU.
"I welcome the swift and decisive steps that the French Government has taken to close the 'Jungle' in Calais, action which will disrupt illegal immigration and people trafficking routes.
"It is a clear signal that France is honouring the agreement we reached in Evian earlier this year to build even stronger controls at the Calais border with the UK.
"The 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. This will see the latest state-of-the-art equipment being used to boost searches of vehicles and goods heading for Britain."
French Immigration Minister Eric Besson also praised the operation.
"My objective was not to round up the greatest possible number of migrants by surprising them at dawn, but to destroy the continuous flow of trafficked human beings," he said.
Despite political satisfaction, refugee groups attacked the "distressing" swoop on the camp and called for the UK to consider homing some of the dozens of detained child immigrants.
Refugee Council policy manager Gemma Juma branded conditions in the camp as "hideous" and added: "The fact that so many are so young should make us ashamed that a better solution hasn't been found before now.
"We need to make sure all of those children are safe and properly looked after. If this means, in a small number of cases, bringing them to the UK to be reunited with friends and family then, as an option, that should not be ruled out."
Refugee Action spokeswoman Julia Ravenscroft said of the police intervention: "There were some distressing scenes and some very young people taken from the camp this morning. The fact that the French had let people know what was going to happen in the morning meant that some of the very vulnerable, including children, were left behind."
Children's Society policy adviser Lisa Nandy added: "We are concerned by the reports that children have been detained.
"Obviously, it's a scary and terrifying experience for them – it would be for anyone – and we just hope their care is prioritised from now."
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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