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Britain to build the 'Great Wall of Calais': Taxpayers will pay £2million for 13ft high, one-mile long concrete barrier along motorway to stop migrants sneaking across the Channel
By Ian Drury, Home Affairs Correspondent for the Daily Mail
22:37 GMT 06 Sep 2016, updated 09:04 GMT 07 Sep 2016
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Wall will stretch nearly a mile along the main motorway to port of Calais
13ft concrete barrier will replace fencing that has failed to stop stowaways
Supporters say wall would halt the flow of migrants and keep drivers safe
Critics claim the barrier is a 'scandalous waste of taxpayers' cash'
Britain is to build a huge wall in Calais to try to stop migrants sneaking across the Channel.
UK taxpayers will foot the £2million bill for the barrier stretching nearly a mile along the main motorway to the port.
Construction will start soon, ministers announced yesterday.
The 13ft concrete wall will replace fencing that has failed to stop stowaways targeting lorries. Before Britain's vote to leave the EU there was a surge in incursions – mostly from the 'Jungle' camp near Calais that houses 10,000 migrants.
Scroll down for video
Taxpayers will foot the £2million bill for the barrier stretching nearly a mile along the main motorway to the port (seen on the map above) between the Jungle and the port). The 13ft concrete wall will replace fencing that has failed to stop stowaways targeting lorries +10
Taxpayers will foot the £2million bill for the barrier stretching nearly a mile along the main motorway to the port (seen on the map above) between the Jungle and the port). The 13ft concrete wall will replace fencing that has failed to stop stowaways targeting lorries
Before Britain's vote to leave the EU there was a surge in incursions ¿ mostly from the 'Jungle' camp near Calais that houses 10,000 migrants. Above, tents in the northern area of the camp +10
Before Britain's vote to leave the EU there was a surge in incursions ¿ mostly from the 'Jungle' camp near Calais that houses 10,000 migrants. Above, tents in the northern area of the camp
The Home Office said the measure would stop stowaways using projectiles in attempts to 'disrupt, delay or even attack vehicles approaching the port'. Pictured, the camp yesterday +10
The Home Office said the measure would stop stowaways using projectiles in attempts to 'disrupt, delay or even attack vehicles approaching the port'. Pictured, the camp yesterday
Kate Gibbs of the Road Haulage Association said the wall was a 'scandalous waste of taxpayers' cash' that would simply shift problems farther down the road.
'Money would be much better spent on boosting security along the approach roads,' she added. 'This is being called the Great Wall of Calais but what good will it do? We are telling our drivers not to stop within 150 miles of Calais so they are not targeted by migrants.
'This will be a tiny concrete alleyway that will serve very little purpose and not provide any security.'
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RELATED ARTICLES
Paris forced to open its first refugee centre in October as it bids to bring an end to makeshift camps popping up around the city
Man the barricades (and BBQs): Fed up with the nightly anarchy of the migrant 'Jungle' camp, the people of Calais are fighting back with a VERY French revolution
But immigration minister Robert Goodwill told the Commons home affairs committee last night that the wall would halt the flow of migrants and keep drivers safe.
The Home Office said the measure would stop stowaways using projectiles in attempts to 'disrupt, delay or even attack vehicles approaching the port'.
Pledge: Immigration minister Robert Goodwill said that the wall would halt the flow of migrants and keep drivers safe +10
Pledge: Immigration minister Robert Goodwill said that the wall would halt the flow of migrants and keep drivers safe
In July official figures showed that one migrant is caught trying to sneak into the UK every six minutes – with 84,088 detentions at our borders last year. Most were caught at the 'juxtaposed controls' in Calais – effectively Britain's border. The port, with its Tunnel, is a key destination for thousands of the more than one million migrants and refugees who illegally entered Europe this year in boats from Turkey and North Africa.
Many are fleeing humanitarian disasters but often they are economic migrants attracted by jobs, state benefits and free accommodation in the UK. Migrants and people-smuggling gangs are becoming increasingly violent in their attempts to board UK-bound trucks.
Last month holidaymakers were warned to avoid Calais after motorists were targeted by gangs with chainsaws and metal bars near the Jungle. A number have reported attacks by migrants from the camp. Last week, three British journalists were injured when a log was hurled at their car, forcing it into the path of a juggernaut.
In June, a French police commissioner said there had been 22,000 breaches of the port road defences in June, compared with just 3,000 in January.
This week French truckers and farmers have blockaded motorways leading into the port in protest at the rising number of assaults.
In July official figures showed that one migrant is caught trying to sneak into the UK every six minutes ¿ with 84,088 detentions at our borders last year. Pictured, the camp yesterday +10
In July official figures showed that one migrant is caught trying to sneak into the UK every six minutes ¿ with 84,088 detentions at our borders last year. Pictured, the camp yesterday
Mr Goodwill told MPs: 'The security that we are putting in at the port is being stepped up with better equipment. We are going to start building this big new wall very soon as part of the £17million package we are doing with the French. We've done the fence, now we are doing a wall. There is still more to do. We have also invested in space for 200 lorries at Calais so that they have somewhere safe to wait.'
Construction of the wall is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Tory MP Charlie Elphicke, who represents Dover, said: 'It is essential to do everything we can to secure the borders of the UK. We need to see action by the French to ensure security at Calais to protect tourists, truckers and trade.'
PARIS BUILDS £5M MIGRANT CAMP WITH A FOOTBALL PITCH
PARIS’S first refugee camp is due to open within weeks, complete with a football pitch and even a resident artist.
Plans emerged yesterday for the £5.5million men-only facility, which will be a far cry from squalid makeshift camps such as the Jungle in Calais.
The news sparked growing resentment among locals near the site – just over a mile from the Eurostar terminal – who claimed the camp would add to existing problems with drugs and crime.
Construction workers operate machinery at a disused railway depot which is being converted into one of the two planned refugee camps for asylum seekers arriving in Paris +10
Construction workers operate machinery at a disused railway depot which is being converted into one of the two planned refugee camps for asylum seekers arriving in Paris
The facility will initially house 400 men before expanding to around 600 by the end of the year, offering round-the-clock medical care and on-call psychologists.
Homes will be made of wooden containers decorated with multi-coloured roofs, constructed inside an empty railway depot. The city council also said yesterday that a famous Parisian street photographer – whose real identity is not known but who goes by the name JR – would bring ‘artistic intervention’ to the camp. JR has exhibited at Sotheby’s and is often compared to UK street artist Banksy.
Paris’s Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo hailed the camp, due to open by mid-October, as a ‘first for Europe’.
But some of its neighbours in Porte de la Chapelle accused her of bringing ‘riff-raff’ on to their doorstep. Two locals named only as Monsef and Farid told the radio station France Info: ‘The residents, the shopkeepers, they don’t agree with them putting this here. We already have quite a few issues in this area ... We’ve got druggies, we’ve got prostitutes, and bringing in migrants on top of that – it’s piling misery on top of misery.’
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Two camps are being constructed, one for male asylum seekers, on the site of a disused railway depot in Northern Paris, and another for women and children in south-east Paris +10
Two camps are being constructed, one for male asylum seekers, on the site of a disused railway depot in Northern Paris, and another for women and children in south-east Paris
An 81-year-old woman who also lives nearby said: ‘They are bringing all the riff-raff here.’ And one Twitter user described the camp as a ‘creche for jihadis’.
The facility was designed by Left-wing architect Julien Beller, who said yesterday: ‘There will be a plug for each bed so that everyone can charge their phones and there will be Wi-Fi everywhere.
‘There will be spaces for people to meet ... common rooms and outdoor benches, artists will do work on the walls, we will have green areas.’
Paris has given shelter to around 15,000 migrants since 2015, with some locals fearing the camp will attract thousands more. The men will reportedly be allowed to stay for a maximum of ten days. A smaller centre for women and children is due to open later this year.
Britain to build the 'Great Wall of Calais': Taxpayers will pay £2million for 13ft high, one-mile long concrete barrier along motorway to stop migrants sneaking across the Channel
By Ian Drury, Home Affairs Correspondent for the Daily Mail
22:37 GMT 06 Sep 2016, updated 09:04 GMT 07 Sep 2016
+10
SMS
3.2k
comments
Wall will stretch nearly a mile along the main motorway to port of Calais
13ft concrete barrier will replace fencing that has failed to stop stowaways
Supporters say wall would halt the flow of migrants and keep drivers safe
Critics claim the barrier is a 'scandalous waste of taxpayers' cash'
Britain is to build a huge wall in Calais to try to stop migrants sneaking across the Channel.
UK taxpayers will foot the £2million bill for the barrier stretching nearly a mile along the main motorway to the port.
Construction will start soon, ministers announced yesterday.
The 13ft concrete wall will replace fencing that has failed to stop stowaways targeting lorries. Before Britain's vote to leave the EU there was a surge in incursions – mostly from the 'Jungle' camp near Calais that houses 10,000 migrants.
Scroll down for video
Taxpayers will foot the £2million bill for the barrier stretching nearly a mile along the main motorway to the port (seen on the map above) between the Jungle and the port). The 13ft concrete wall will replace fencing that has failed to stop stowaways targeting lorries +10
Taxpayers will foot the £2million bill for the barrier stretching nearly a mile along the main motorway to the port (seen on the map above) between the Jungle and the port). The 13ft concrete wall will replace fencing that has failed to stop stowaways targeting lorries
Before Britain's vote to leave the EU there was a surge in incursions ¿ mostly from the 'Jungle' camp near Calais that houses 10,000 migrants. Above, tents in the northern area of the camp +10
Before Britain's vote to leave the EU there was a surge in incursions ¿ mostly from the 'Jungle' camp near Calais that houses 10,000 migrants. Above, tents in the northern area of the camp
The Home Office said the measure would stop stowaways using projectiles in attempts to 'disrupt, delay or even attack vehicles approaching the port'. Pictured, the camp yesterday +10
The Home Office said the measure would stop stowaways using projectiles in attempts to 'disrupt, delay or even attack vehicles approaching the port'. Pictured, the camp yesterday
Kate Gibbs of the Road Haulage Association said the wall was a 'scandalous waste of taxpayers' cash' that would simply shift problems farther down the road.
'Money would be much better spent on boosting security along the approach roads,' she added. 'This is being called the Great Wall of Calais but what good will it do? We are telling our drivers not to stop within 150 miles of Calais so they are not targeted by migrants.
'This will be a tiny concrete alleyway that will serve very little purpose and not provide any security.'
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RELATED ARTICLES
Paris forced to open its first refugee centre in October as it bids to bring an end to makeshift camps popping up around the city
Man the barricades (and BBQs): Fed up with the nightly anarchy of the migrant 'Jungle' camp, the people of Calais are fighting back with a VERY French revolution
But immigration minister Robert Goodwill told the Commons home affairs committee last night that the wall would halt the flow of migrants and keep drivers safe.
The Home Office said the measure would stop stowaways using projectiles in attempts to 'disrupt, delay or even attack vehicles approaching the port'.
Pledge: Immigration minister Robert Goodwill said that the wall would halt the flow of migrants and keep drivers safe +10
Pledge: Immigration minister Robert Goodwill said that the wall would halt the flow of migrants and keep drivers safe
In July official figures showed that one migrant is caught trying to sneak into the UK every six minutes – with 84,088 detentions at our borders last year. Most were caught at the 'juxtaposed controls' in Calais – effectively Britain's border. The port, with its Tunnel, is a key destination for thousands of the more than one million migrants and refugees who illegally entered Europe this year in boats from Turkey and North Africa.
Many are fleeing humanitarian disasters but often they are economic migrants attracted by jobs, state benefits and free accommodation in the UK. Migrants and people-smuggling gangs are becoming increasingly violent in their attempts to board UK-bound trucks.
Last month holidaymakers were warned to avoid Calais after motorists were targeted by gangs with chainsaws and metal bars near the Jungle. A number have reported attacks by migrants from the camp. Last week, three British journalists were injured when a log was hurled at their car, forcing it into the path of a juggernaut.
In June, a French police commissioner said there had been 22,000 breaches of the port road defences in June, compared with just 3,000 in January.
This week French truckers and farmers have blockaded motorways leading into the port in protest at the rising number of assaults.
In July official figures showed that one migrant is caught trying to sneak into the UK every six minutes ¿ with 84,088 detentions at our borders last year. Pictured, the camp yesterday +10
In July official figures showed that one migrant is caught trying to sneak into the UK every six minutes ¿ with 84,088 detentions at our borders last year. Pictured, the camp yesterday
Mr Goodwill told MPs: 'The security that we are putting in at the port is being stepped up with better equipment. We are going to start building this big new wall very soon as part of the £17million package we are doing with the French. We've done the fence, now we are doing a wall. There is still more to do. We have also invested in space for 200 lorries at Calais so that they have somewhere safe to wait.'
Construction of the wall is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Tory MP Charlie Elphicke, who represents Dover, said: 'It is essential to do everything we can to secure the borders of the UK. We need to see action by the French to ensure security at Calais to protect tourists, truckers and trade.'
PARIS BUILDS £5M MIGRANT CAMP WITH A FOOTBALL PITCH
PARIS’S first refugee camp is due to open within weeks, complete with a football pitch and even a resident artist.
Plans emerged yesterday for the £5.5million men-only facility, which will be a far cry from squalid makeshift camps such as the Jungle in Calais.
The news sparked growing resentment among locals near the site – just over a mile from the Eurostar terminal – who claimed the camp would add to existing problems with drugs and crime.
Construction workers operate machinery at a disused railway depot which is being converted into one of the two planned refugee camps for asylum seekers arriving in Paris +10
Construction workers operate machinery at a disused railway depot which is being converted into one of the two planned refugee camps for asylum seekers arriving in Paris
The facility will initially house 400 men before expanding to around 600 by the end of the year, offering round-the-clock medical care and on-call psychologists.
Homes will be made of wooden containers decorated with multi-coloured roofs, constructed inside an empty railway depot. The city council also said yesterday that a famous Parisian street photographer – whose real identity is not known but who goes by the name JR – would bring ‘artistic intervention’ to the camp. JR has exhibited at Sotheby’s and is often compared to UK street artist Banksy.
Paris’s Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo hailed the camp, due to open by mid-October, as a ‘first for Europe’.
But some of its neighbours in Porte de la Chapelle accused her of bringing ‘riff-raff’ on to their doorstep. Two locals named only as Monsef and Farid told the radio station France Info: ‘The residents, the shopkeepers, they don’t agree with them putting this here. We already have quite a few issues in this area ... We’ve got druggies, we’ve got prostitutes, and bringing in migrants on top of that – it’s piling misery on top of misery.’
Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00
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Two camps are being constructed, one for male asylum seekers, on the site of a disused railway depot in Northern Paris, and another for women and children in south-east Paris +10
Two camps are being constructed, one for male asylum seekers, on the site of a disused railway depot in Northern Paris, and another for women and children in south-east Paris
An 81-year-old woman who also lives nearby said: ‘They are bringing all the riff-raff here.’ And one Twitter user described the camp as a ‘creche for jihadis’.
The facility was designed by Left-wing architect Julien Beller, who said yesterday: ‘There will be a plug for each bed so that everyone can charge their phones and there will be Wi-Fi everywhere.
‘There will be spaces for people to meet ... common rooms and outdoor benches, artists will do work on the walls, we will have green areas.’
Paris has given shelter to around 15,000 migrants since 2015, with some locals fearing the camp will attract thousands more. The men will reportedly be allowed to stay for a maximum of ten days. A smaller centre for women and children is due to open later this year.
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