Calais chaos: ‘Consider bringing in the troops’: FTA

28-Jul-2015 - Last updated on 29-Jul-2015 at 12:57 GMT

The British and French government should consider enlisting the help of troops: FTA

The government should consider enlisting the British Army to end the traffic chaos on this side of the Channel, which is costing the freight industry millions and causing misery for holidaymakers, suggests the Freight Transport Association (FTA).

Urgent action was needed to end months of travel chaos, arising from striking French ferry workers and migrants trying to gain illegal passage to the UK, said the FTA, as food and vegetable hauliers and other drivers find themselves stranded in the “warzone” of Calais.

Hundreds of trucks remained stuck in queues on the M20 today (July 29), as part of Operation Stack, after at least 1,500 migrants tried to storm the Channel Tunnel and a man died last night.

Bringing the army in was one of the options that the British and French governments could consider because the situation was “out of hand”, an FTA spokeswoman told FoodManufacture.co.uk.

‘1,500 migrants storm Eurotunnel complex’

“Last night we saw 1,500 migrants storm the Eurotunnel complex, it’s left one man dead. Something has got to be done,” she said.

“Our members have said previously that it’s like a warzone and it’s not being managed. All the time the migrants are able to shut the Channel Tunnel and cause disruption at the port, trade is being affected.”

She added: “What we are calling for is for the situation to be treated as an issue of national importance because it is affecting trade across the country.”

The FTA welcomed an emergency meeting of the government’s COBRA (Cabinet office briefing room A) council this morning, which aimed to find answers to the deepening crisis. Earlier this week up to 2,000 migrants tried to break into the freight terminal.

An extra £600 was added to the journey of each truck affected by Operation Stack while travelling to and from Calais, estimated the FTA.

FTA verdict

“Last night we saw 1,500 migrants storm the Eurotunnel complex, it’s left one man dead. Something has got to be done.”

FTA spokeswoman

Impact on food deliveries

Asked about the effect on food deliveries, the spokeswoman said: “The impact is possibly greater for them because they have the risk of their loads being contaminated.

“If migrants get on board then that whole load has to be written off. If it’s time sensitive, and things like strawberries that have a limited shelf-life, those operators are being hit hardest.”

Damian Collins, Conservative Member of Parliament for Folkestone and Hythe, said the French authorities must do far more to strengthen security at the Channel Tunnel ferry terminal and at the Port of Calais.

“It’s partly a problem of enforcement by the French authorities,” Collins told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “I can’t believe they would be that lax about security at an airport or other sensitive installation. I also can’t believe we would allow this to happen on this side of the Channel.”

The travel chaos had grown from being a local problem to a national one, added Collins.

“Operation Stack has failed. We need a new plan. A national strategy to keep people moving that is good for freight, good for holidaymakers and good for my constituents in Kent,” he said.