I went to France to witness small-boat crossings – the police are doing nothing to stop it
Illegal immigrants housed in hotels have been prosecuted for the rape and sexual assault of women and children. Local people, many of whom who have never been involved in protest before, have taken to streets to voice their anger.
So I decided to head to northern France myself this week and see what is going on. I wanted to meet the illegal immigrants face to face and see what, if anything, the French police are doing. Politicians sometimes live inside a sanitised bubble of carefully choreographed visits. I went unannounced to find the truth.
Let's start with the French authorities. From what I saw this week around Calais and Dunkirk, they are doing virtually nothing. In fact, they often appear to be facilitating illegal immigration. I was on a beach notorious for embarkations from 3.30am until 8am. The beach was completely unpatrolled by the French police – even though just the night before there had been embarkations there and everyone knows it is a high-risk zone.
Obvious illegal immigrants are allowed to circulate freely around the streets with no attempt to stop them. I even filmed French police brazenly ushering illegal immigrants onto a public bus, the destination of which was the beaches commonly used for attempted crossing.
Last week I was in the channel on a fishing boat and witnessed two migrant boats being ushered across by French vessels. They made no attempt to stop them, which they could easily have done near the shore, as the Belgians do. I interviewed a French fisherman who told me that the minute the migrant's foot is in the water, French authorities do nothing.
Then I decided to venture into squalid camp just outside Dunkirk which the migrants call the Jungle Two, after the infamous camp near Calais a decade ago. I felt some trepidation in doing this – there were thousands of illegal immigrants in the sprawling camp and no police anywhere in sight. The French make no attempt to clear the site or deal with the people smuggling gangs that run the place. Gang members were easy to find. I challenged a man walking around with a large bag full of life-jackets who was obviously one of them.
The migrants came from across Africa, the middle east and Afghanistan. I asked those who could speak some English why they want to come to UK. The answers were clear: they all know they get put up in a free hotel when they arrive; they know they can easily work illegally for companies like Deliveroo; and they know there is pretty much zero chance of ever getting removed.
Given every single one of these migrants is in France, a safe country, they could claim asylum there if they genuinely needed protection. Not one of them needs to cross the Channel to do that. When I pointed out that the crossings were illegal and unnecessary they just laughed or said they did not care.
Then, things got ugly. A man started waving around a curved machete. As we rapidly left, we were pelted with glass bottles and our car was hit by projectiles as it sped away.
The man who wielded that machete is likely to be in the UK any day soon and living in a government-funded hotel near you. No wonder decent people are driven to protest.
I left France angrier than ever that the Government is allowing this happen and grow. The day I was there the biggest ever boat crossed – carrying 107 illegal immigrants in a single massive custom-made dingy.
The Government's claim to smash the gangs is clearly laughable, as I saw myself. Their plan to return a tiny number of those crossing back to France will obviously make no difference whatsoever.
The French show no sign of stopping this. They are largely ignoring, and in some cases appear to be actively facilitating, what is going on.
What we in the UK can do is ensure that every single illegal immigrant who arrives is immediately removed – either to their country of origin or to a third country like Rwanda. Countries not taking back their own nationals must face visa sanctions. There can be no judicial process as that will cause endless delays. If all are removed, the migrants would not bother to cross in the first place.
That is why Kemi Badenoch and I have tabled a Deportation Bill in Parliament. It would require immediate removal of all illegal immigrants arriving and stop the Human Rights Act being used in any immigration matter. Needless to say, Labour voted against these measures.
I was disgusted by what I saw this week – rampant illegal immigration ignored or facilitated by the French and our Government doing virtually nothing. I will go back to Westminster with a redoubled determination to shame our weak Government into acting.
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