Acting leader of the UK’s Labour Party Harriet Harman has called for compensation from the French government to be paid to British drivers affected
ADVERTISEMENTActing leader of the UK’s Labour Party Harriet Harman has called for compensation from the French government to be paid to British drivers affected by ongoing chaos at Calais.
In a letter the UK prime minister David Cameron, she says his government has ignored repeated warnings about the growing crisis at the French port.
The UK Freight Transport Association estimates the cost to the haulage companies caught up in the operation to be the equivalent of around 995,000 euros a day.
Hundreds of migrants are trying to cross from Calais to the UK each night. But why? https://t.co/xBFkeRwtYqpic.twitter.com/Lg3sCKYFUp
— BBC Newsbeat (@BBCNewsbeat) August 1, 2015
The patience of many drivers is wearing thin.
“Are we waiting for a truck driver to get killed?,” asks truck driver Brian Gilbert. “Because it could happen. And in some certain pictures that I’ve seen in social media it’s been pretty damn close. What are we going to do if we find out if one of them is carrying a gun?”
British prime minister David Cameron has vowed to work with French authorities to get a grip on the crisis.
Humanitarian and migration crisis
Meanwhile migrants in Calais waited for a chance to get through the tunnel on Saturday morning (August 1).
Medical workers are struggling to cope, as 27-year-old Alghali from Sudan explained.
“I feel sick, he said. “Maybe about seven days, i’m ill. And the hospital of the camp, they are telling, they just take in 20 person for a day. Or 14 person in a day. If you come late, they’re not taking you.”
At least 9 migrants have died in Calais in the last two months.
24 photos that illustrate the growing crisis in Calais http://t.co/aCQErUiBtkpic.twitter.com/oiiNpqx3WS
— The Independent (@Independent) August 1, 2015