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French minister says UK police should help in Calais

France's interior minister says British police should be sent to Calais to help dissuade would-be illegal immigrants from trying to cross the channel.

There are around 2,500 migrants in Calais and the town's mayor has previously told MPs many are "prepared to die to come to England".

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UK system 'makes it easy for immigrants to work illegally'

MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee have asked the mayor of Calais to ask her president to make the benefits system for immigrants in France faster, more effective and less hostile for new claimants.

They said the amount immigrants in the UK are entitled to is lower than France but the system is easier to navigate. She said:

Natacha Bouchart, Mayor of Calais. Credit: .

I'm not advertising (UK benefits), it is the populations that are here in the UK that are advertising it.

It is easy to integrate here - it is the system that makes it easy to work illegally, and the benefits on top of that.

– Natacha Bouchart, Mayor of Calais

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