RHA: new wall at Calais ‘not the answer’

The Road Haulage Association has responded with disappointment to proposals for a four-metre high, one-kilometre long wall at the port of Calais, in order to address the ongoing security situation posed by migrants attempting to cross the English Channel.

“I am very disappointed that despite presenting a robust case for increased security at the Port [12 months ago] UK-bound HGV drivers are still running the gauntlet of aggressive migrant activity on a daily basis,” said RHA chief executive Richard Burnett.

““This latest proposal, supposedly costing £1.9 million, would be a poor use of taxpayers’ money. We made it clear to the [home affairs] select committee that security levels needed to be improved; not just within the port perimeter but in the surrounding environs up to a distance of 5km.

“This advice now being given to members of the association is that their drivers should not stop within 150 miles of the port.  It is imperative that the money to pay for a wall would be much better spent on increasing security along the approach roads.”

He added: “Of course we sympathise with the Calais businesses and residents whose lives and livelihoods are being blighted by migrant activity, despite a large part of the ‘Jungle’ being dismantled.

“However, our focus remains with the HGV drivers who now accept that physical threats are just a part of the job. This is morally wrong and cannot be allowed to continue.”

Meanwhile, the Freight Transport Association recently published an ‘ABC guide’ to key issues for the logistics industry as the UK leaves the European Union, among which it highlighted border controls – including those at Calais – as an area of concern.

“Will they remain juxtaposed in Calais where security for truck drivers can be maximised or will they be repatriated back to Kent and migrants able to leave France unimpeded?” asked FTA.

This aspect of French-UK cooperation has already been brought into question by the Mayor of Calais Natacha Bouchart, who shortly after the referendum result called on the French government to consider renegotiating the existing treaty that allows British border forces to check vehicles for illegal immigrants prior to accessing ferry services and the Tunnel.

The French authorities have since played down suggestions that this arrangement could change, but any such move could have the effect of relocating migrant camps from Calais to Kent – with hauliers potentially facing longer waits in Dover rather than prior to crossing the Channel.

Enforcement of cross-border traffic was essential, said FTA, in avoiding queues of waiting traffic so that Operation Stack does not “become a permanent feature of life in Kent”.