Calais chief wants new migrant border deal with UK

Migrants in Calais seeking asylum in the UK should be allowed to lodge their claim in France, the president of the region has told the BBC.

Xavier Bertrand said 9,000 migrants, many trying to get to the UK, were in a Calais camp known as the Jungle.

He said he wanted a new deal in which migrants could apply for UK asylum at a “hotspot” in France rather than having to wait to reach British soil.

Anyone rejected would be deported directly to their country of origin.

Calais has become the focal point of France’s refugee crisis.

The Jungle camp is expanding and almost every night people there try to hide inside vehicles entering the port and the Channel Tunnel to get to Britain.

Mr Bertrand wants changes to the bilateral agreement between France and the UK called the Treaty of Le Touquet.

Under the treaty, British immigration officials check passports in Calais – meaning Britain’s border with France remains on French soil. (bbcnews)