UK calls for action over fears of migrant influx

Joint operations between UK and French officials have already helped to cut the number of people trying to get to Britain from the Port of Calais by 70 per cent, she said.

Amid concerns that tens of thousands of migrants from North Africa may head to Calais to try to make their way to Britain, Mrs May said “strong practical action was needed”.

“We need lasting practical co-operation and not burden-sharing,” she said.

Under the Schengen Agreement, citizens in 25 mainland European Union nations are allowed to travel across borders without having their passports checked.

But the deal is under threat as tensions have risen over the fleeing migrants after Italy handed more than 25,000 Tunisians temporary permits to travel, effectively giving them unobstructed travel around the 25 EU nations.

The UK and Ireland are not part of the agreement.

Speaking at Calais town hall after inspecting the cross-border security operations at the ports, Mrs May said: “Continued pressure from illegal immigrants in France is a joint problem for both the UK and France and as such requires a joint solution.

“We are committed to continuing to ensure the border is impenetrable.

“We are working together on a bilateral basis and through the EU to tackle the threat of illegal immigration at key points and in non-EU countries, and to respond appropriately to political developments such as those we see in North Africa.

“We need strong practical action to support countries in the region in their humanitarian and migration control efforts, and I’m committed to working with the minister to ensure the international response is swift, practical, effective and makes a real difference.

“We need lasting practical co-operation and not burden-sharing.”

Mrs May said the partnership “in the face of immigration, terrorist and organised crime threats” has “helped create one of the strongest borders in the world”.

Such efforts had “contributed to a 70 per cent decrease in the number of people attempting to cross our border illegally”, she said.

Asked about migrants heading to the UK from north Africa, Mrs May said: “At the moment, we’ve not seen any signs of people coming through and reaching the UK.”

Many had gone to Italy and some tried to travel to France from there.

“But we do need to look ahead to what might be happening in the future,” she said.

“We very much feel that we need to be working with countries in north Africa, like Tunisia, to provide practical support through the EU for them to be able to exercise border controls on their borders.”

Mrs May was speaking after visiting the cross-border security operations with her French opposite number, interior minister Claude Gueant.

Asked about the talks, she said: “We came today to see the joint co-operation between French and the UK working together at the border.

“We were talking about how we can ensure that co-operation continues and that we can build on it in the future.

“It’s been very important to us, the way the French have been willing to deal with illegal immigrants coming through Calais.”

The Home Secretary also defended the work of the UK Border Agency which MPs last week described as “not fit for purpose.

They accused the agency of running an “amnesty” for asylum seekers in an attempt to clear a backlog of 450,000 cases but Mrs May said it was “doing an extremely good job” and the backlog was inherited from Labour.