UK Offers To Send 'Ring Of Steel' To Calais

By Joe Tidy, Sky News Reporter

The Home Office is offering to give French border officials the fence that was used to protect world leaders at the Nato summit in an attempt to deal with the immigrant crisis in Calais.

Known as the "ring of steel", the 11ft tall, 11-mile-long fence was erected around Celtic Manor and other Nato venues in South Wales.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, immigration minister James Brokenshire acknowledges the growing issue of security in the port of Calais where migrants are attempting to gain access to Britain in vast numbers.

The minister writes: "Obviously it's up to the French to maintain security and order on their own soil, but we want to do what we can to help. We offered the port of Calais 3m three months ago to help improve security we now offer our French partners the fences that were used this week to keep the Nato summit safe in Newport.

"These could replace and enlarge the inadequate fencing in Calais which is too easy for illegal immigrants to scale."

It is estimated that 1,500 migrants from countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea and Ethiopia are living in makeshift camps near the port and regularly climbing over fences in order to get to lorries and ferries.

On Wednesday, dozens of men stunned French officials by storming directly into the port in broad daylight.

Most of the young men claim to be seeking asylum in the UK and risk their lives to get onto ships bound for Dover.

Sudanese migrant Ibrahim Abubakar said: "I have no home, I have no job, I have no place to sleep. This is my problem here. I want to stay here, but they give me a long time, I wait four months here. After that, maybe I find a home, I find a job. It's very difficult here. But I think after I go to England maybe I find job, I find a home, I find something to eat."

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UK Offers To Send 'Ring Of Steel' To Calais