French to LET migrants head for Britain: Fury at threat to scrap border checks at Calais

FRANCE last night threatened to dump thousands of migrants on Britain’s doorstep if we vote to leave the European Union.

A diplomatic row erupted after a top ranking official said a historic border treaty would be ripped up and binned after Brexit.

Calais regional president Xavier Bertrand said France would renege on the terms of Le Touquet Treaty and refuse to police the frontier of a country outside the EU.

It would see British border checks pushed back across the Channel, raising the spectre of a migrant flood into the UK.

M Bertrand said: “If Britain leaves Europe, right away the border will leave Calais and go to Dover. We will not continue to guard the border for Britain if it’s no longer in the European Union.”

The treaty, signed in 2003, sees cross-Channel checks carried out at French ferry and train terminals. Scrapping it would cause a massive security nightmare with migrants free to cross the Channel from where they could launch attempts to sneak into the UK.

His comments comes after Prime Minister David Cameron claimed quitting the EU could see Calais-style migrant camps dotted along the Kent coast.

Mr Bertrand, a key ally of former Socialist French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said: “Mr Cameron is not taking this issue seriously. His latest actions have been too little too late.

"If his inaction continues, we should let the migrants cross the Channel and he can deal with them in his own way, on his own island. The English need to change their labour laws for migrants because even if in theory you need some paperwork to work, it’s possible to work on the black market and lots of employers exploit this for cheap labour. You English must stop your social dumping and get your labour laws in order.

“You have to act, or we must move the border back to Dover where it belongs.”

His inflammatory comments echo those of Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart who has vowed to do “everything in her power” to scrap the agreement.

Calais has become the final frontier in the fight against illegal immigration. As many as 7,000 are currently holed up in the notorious Calais “Jungle” camp waiting for a chance to stow away on British-bound trucks and Eurotunnel trains.

Figures obtained by the Daily Express show Britain has spent nearly £100,000 a day tackling the deteriorating security situation in the town since 2010. There are now thought to be as many as 12,000 migrants dotted along the northern French coast waiting for their chance to slip into Britain to plunder jobs, benefits, health care and housing.

Ukip MEP Steven Woolfe said: “The French are passionate and demonstrative but the French Government is not stupid or mad. Ditching the Le Touquet is not going to happen. It is here to stay whether Britain is in or out.”

Shocking figures show stowaways were stopped reaching Britain at a rate of 153 a day in the first six months of last year.

There were 27,755 failed attempts to reach the UK between January and June. This compares to 12,980 in the first six months of 2014 and 6,238 in 2013.

Heightened security in and around Calais has seen thousands of migrants flock to neighbouring ports like Dunkirk, Dieppe and Cherbourg in the hope of making it across the Channel ilegally.

There are now thought to be as many as 12,000 migrants dotted along the northern French coast. The crisis this week forced Belgium to reinstate border controls fearing migrants might try their luck at ports like and Ostend and Zeebrugge.

British politicians said his extraordinary remarks amounted to “Le Sulk”. Tory MP Phillip Hollobone said: “The joint border controls at Calais are the result of a bilateral agreement; they are nothing to do with the EU. If Britain leaves we will save at least £10bn a year by not having to pay our annual EU membership fee; this means we would have a lot more money to spend on beefing up our border controls if the French were to rat on our agreement at Calais.”

In a previous interview with this newspaper Mme Bouchart’s deputy Philippe Mignonet said: “Migrants don’t fall from the sky – they arrive in Calais to get to England. They’ve nothing to lose. They want to go to England – whose fault is that? They have left everything behind, travelled so many miles and known so many difficulties. It’s their dream, so I wish them luck. It is useless to say England doesn’t want immigration because still they come.”

Leave.EU spokesman Jack Montgomery said: “David Cameron’s nightmare vision of Kent under some sort of latter-day occupation is just another laughable scare story.”

A Downing Street source said: “This confirms that if Britain leaves the EU, there is a real risk that our border with France in Calais could move to Dover ‘right away’, threatening our security.

“That’s why leaving the EU is leap into the dark. Britain is stronger, safer and better off in a reformed Europe.”