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Nato 'ring of steel' fences sent to Calais to stop immigrants

Britain will send the fences used at the Nato summit to Calais in an effort to stop illegal immigrants getting into Britain from the French port.

The immigration minister James Brokenshire said the move is part of a bid to send a message that the UK is "no soft touch" for migrants.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, the minister said the new fencing would replace the "inadequate" fencing currently in place, and added that a hope would be to create secure parking for legal travellers to wait without the threat of hassle from any disruption.

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France should 'get its act together' on asylum seekers

France should stop blaming Britain and "get its act together" and deal with growing numbers of asylum seekers in Calais, according to a former home secretary.

Lord Howard of Lympne said he had "some sympathy" with the mayor of Calais. Credit: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

Lord Howard of Lympne said he had "some sympathy" with the mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, but he said she was "directing her frustration and her anger at the wrong target" by threatening to blockade the port and demanding that London "take responsibility" for them.

He told told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The mayor of Calais ought to be directing her frustration at president (Francois) Hollande."

He added that the previous French administration under president Nicolas Sarkozy had recognised that the Schengen agreement which created a borderless zone between 10 European states, meant France had "lost control of its borders."

He added: "We have control of our borders. But it is the countries of the Schengen agreement that ought to get their act together and deal with this problem. We have retained control of our borders, and it is about time members of the Schengen agreement did the same."

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Nato 'ring of steel' fences sent to Calais to stop immigrants

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