Twitter Poll Reinforces FTA Call For Calais Camp To Be Relocated

An online poll has overwhelmingly reinforced the Freight Transport Association’s (FTA) call for the migrant camp in Calais to be moved further away from the port to try and percent the attacks on truck drivers as the queue to cross the Channel

The FTA asked its twitter followers (@newsfromFTA) over the restive period if they thought that the migrant camp should be relocated. The results were staggering with 96% of the 68 respondents voting in favour in the move, with making comments such as “yes, why do we accept the camp as reasonable?” and “yes, about 500 miles should do it.”

Over the past year the camp has increased from 600 to 6,000 and the number of drivers being fined for carrying stowaway has more than tripled in the past 3 years. Drivers can be fined personally up to £2,000 for each illegal immigrant that is found on board and FTA members say it’s impossible to stop the trucks being attacked due to the huge number of immigrants and personal safety issues.

A New Location

A new migrant camp is now being proposed at Dunkirk, which the local mayor says will provide more humane and dignified living standards than the current camp in Calais

But Natalie Chapman. FTA’s Head of Policy for London and the South East, said:“Planning a new camp near another port is madness – this is a critical trade route where our members will continue to be affected.

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“There is undoubtedly a humanitarian crisis here and genuine refugees should be treated with respect and have their cases properly processed. However, the Calais camp is far too close to the road and the port, putting our members’ livelihoods – and indeed their lives – at risk.”

“This is Western Europe in the 21st Century – it’s unthinkable that we can’t come up with a solution to this problem instead of allowing thousands of migrants and refugees to live in squalid conditions while international transport operations are put in jeopardy.”

The FTA understands that the new camp is to be situated 30 miles from Calais, with the French government providing the funding. The Association has been calling on the French government to move the camp since 2013 when problems first started to escalate.