Migrants forced out of Calais 'jungle' camp warned not to return in bid to reach UK

Thousands of migrants who have left the “Jungle” camp were today bluntly warned not to return to Calais as it would be a “blind alley” in their bid to reach the UK.

Sylvie Bermann, France’s ambassador to the UK, stressed French police would remain in sufficient numbers in the northern port to prevent new camps being set up.

She issued the warning as the French authorities prepared to start dismantling part of the squalid camp which thousands of migrants have already left.

“The government is determined to stop people coming back to Calais,” she told BBC radio.

“We won’t let them come.

Migrants stand next to tents during the dismantling of the camp
REUTERS

“It has to be clear that Calais is a blind alley, and you can’t come to this country.

“We will leave policemen there for the time being.”

More than 2,000 police, including riot squads, have been deployed to Calais as the slum camp is being closed down and demolished.

Around 2,000 residents, mainly Sudanese and Eritrean, packed their bags and were taken by bus to 80 accommodation centres around France yesterday.

Migrants walk past tents with their belongings as they leave the camp
REUTERS

Around 5,000 remain and the French authorities and charities expect around 2,000 to resist being moved which could spark clashes, with hundreds of British and French anarchists also believed to be in the area.

Some 200 unaccompanied children living in the “Jungle”, many of them with relatives in the UK, have already arrived in Britain and more were expected to make the journey across the Channel today.

But scuffles broke out early this morning less than an hour after French authorities began a fresh round of processing refugees and migrants to be driven away.

Some 400 unaccompanied children had registered and were being housed in heated shelters.

The small spat is thought to have started as unaccompanied minors were being separated from the main queue.

Migrants line-up to register at a processing centre in the makeshift camp
AP

Someone shouted into a loudspeaker: “Sit down, the door is closed. Stop pushing”, while cries of “Help, please help” were heard as people started to panic.

Young people could be seen crouching down by metal barriers while police formed a protective circle around them.

The gate to the processing centre was temporarily closed while the chaos continued.

Only three buses had left the processing centre by 10am.

Amid reported tensions between the French and British governments over the pace of transferring unaccompanied children, Ms Bermann said there were 600 in special centres in Calais waiting to be processed.

“It’s impossible for the French to know if they really have families in the UK. So we gave the list to the UK Government and now they will have to process,” she said.

The operation to clear the camp has led to an explosion in the price being charged by people traffickers for passage to England.

Smugglers are now charging ‘clients’ from sub-Saharan Africa £3500 to get across the Channel, and £10,000 to Syrians.

Two uniformed Metropolitan Police officers, believed to be “spotters” looking for known British troublemakers, have been deployed to Calais where they were seen in the camp with plain clothed French officers brandishing machine guns.

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