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Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart tells MPs that migrants see life in UK as easy

00:00, 08 September 2015

updated: 19:51, 08 September 2015

The Mayor of Calais says she is disgusted by the attitude of Prime Minister David Cameron over the migrant camp in the French town.

Natacha Bouchart, who was appearing before MPs on the Home Affairs select committee today, also revealed that nine people, including a baby, had died at the camp since July

Ms Bouchart said she held Mr Cameron in contempt because he was refusing to take any Syrian refugees from Europe and none from Calais.

Migrant activity in Calais. Library image: @daftnelly.
Migrant activity in Calais. Library image: @daftnelly.

She said a threat to open the borders to those at the camps if the town did not receive 50 million of Euros to help did not amount to blackmail but was a moral obligation.

In a series of testy exchanges with MPs, she said the offer by Mr Cameron of taking 20,000 migrants over the Parliament but none from Europe proved the prime minister was "contemptuous" of Calais people.

She also repeated her assertion that asylum seekers who travelled to the Calais camps were attracted to the UK because of the ease with which they could get a life in the country.

They saw it as “Eldorado” - a word she used at a previous appearance before MPs on the Home Affairs select committee.

“That is why they are ready to die and we have to bury those that die.”

French mayor, Natacha Bouchart, says the UK has an 'El Dorado' appeal
French mayor, Natacha Bouchart, says the UK has an 'El Dorado' appeal

Of those gathered at the encampments, she said 10% wanted to stay in France while the remainder wanted to get to the UK.

Meanwhile Kent County Council social services chiefs say the authority has reached saturation point in its ability to deal with unaccompanied teenage asylum seekers.

Social services director Andrew Ireland told councillors that 33 young teenagers had had to be placed with authorities as far afield as Bath and Hartlepool.

“We have reached, in terms of our ability to place youngsters in the county, reached saturation point.”


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