More on KentOnline
Home Folkestone News Article
A senior French government minister has warned the migrant camp in Calais, called "The Jungle", could be relocated to Britain if the country left the EU.
Emmanuel Macron told the Financial Times an exit would potentially end an agreement which allows Britain to carry out passport checks on the French side of the border.
He warned those deciding to leave the single market will not be able to secure the same terms.
The day the relationship between France and Britain unravels migrants would no longer be in Calais, he said.
Responding to the comments, Dover MP Charlie Elphicke told our political editor Paul Francis that they underlined the need to remain in the EU.
“This is the primary reason why we should remain in the EU, although I am highly sceptical of the whole European project. We cannot return to a situation where we have border checks back in Dover, that would be a disaster and a return to the bad old days of fifteen years ago.,” he said.
But Mayor of London Boris Johnson said the claims were another example of "Project Fear" designed to scare voters, quipping: "Donnez-moi un break, as they say in Brussels.
M. Macron's warning echoed one given by Prime Minister David Cameron at the start of the referendum campaign, in which he said migrants would set up camp in Folkestone and Dover if Britain decides to vote for a Brexit.
He claimed an exit from the EU would leave the country vulnerable to terror attacks and that migrant camps would spring up across the South East.
The latest alarm bell sounds as migration is put at the centre of the Brexit debate, with opinion divided on the effects of exiting the EU.
In or Out? Two Kent MPs discuss the case for and against the EU on our new political programme on KMTV 'Paul On Politics'