David Cameron draws up plans to stop Channel Tunnel migrants

Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, has drawn up plans to help France tackle a spike in attempts by migrants to enter Britain illegally via the Channel Tunnel, but warned there was no quick fix.

Cameron is under pressure to deter the migrants, many of whom have travelled from Africa and the Middle East, after disruption to cross-Channel passenger and freight traffic.

He drafted the plans at a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee, ‘Cobra’, after politicians called for the army to reinforce border controls.

“We’re going to take action right across the board. Starting with helping the French, on their side of the border, we’re going to put in more fencing, more resources, more sniffer-dog teams, more assistance in any way we can,” Cameron said. “This is going to be a difficult issue right across the summer.”

The disruption in Calais is unacceptable. I've just chaired COBRA to agree action including more fencing, resources & search and dog teams.

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) July 31, 2015

To help hauliers and the people of Kent we will do all we can to get the queues moving. Sorting this situation out is an absolute priority.

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) July 31, 2015

Cameron, who has spoken to French president, Francois Hollande, also said government land would be used to ease disruption caused by queuing lorries on the British side of the Channel.

Re-elected in May, Cameron has promised to cut net annual migration to Britain to the tens of thousands, a pledge he failed to keep during his 2010-15 term in office, when it hit a near-record 300,000 people. The issue plays into Britain’s debate about Europe, ahead of an EU membership referendum Cameron has promised by the end of 2017.

Migrants have long-gathered in Calais to try to get into Britain. But Eurotunnel, the firm that runs freight-and-passenger shuttles via the Channel Tunnel, says numbers have swelled to 5,000 people, from 600, and that it is struggling to cope. Migrants are better-organised, mounting nightly attempts, in large groups, to storm the facilities. Eurotunnel has sometimes suspended its services, causing disruption at what is one of the busiest times of the year for British holidaymakers.

The situation has caught the imagination of Britain’s tabloid newspapers, becoming a political headache for Cameron. He is under pressure from many lawmakers in his ruling Conservatives to get tough on the migrants. But he also has to contend with political rivals unhappy with the debate’s tone.

The Labour Party has criticised Cameron for referring to the migrants as a “swarm”, saying the term was dehumanising.