GOVERNMENT moves to halt the flood of migrants crossing the Channel have been frustrated by a hard-Left French mayor who declared his town “open to the world”.
Militant Patrice Vergriete has been accused by British MPs of failing to tackle the small boats crisis in Dunkirk.
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Patrice Vergriete has been accused by British MPs of failing to tackle small boats crossing The Channel from Dunkirk Credit: Getty 4
Illegal immigration costs the UK at least ￡4billion a year Credit: Getty
The town has become a focal point for migrants wanting to reach -Britain as the boat gangs spread along the coast from nearby Calais.
But towering Vergriete, a former basketball player, has repeatedly downplayed the crisis.
He said: “This territory is above all a port, therefore open to the world.
“We must face the evolution of the world without betraying our humanist values, not by erecting walls around the city as some imagine.”
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Vergriete’s welcoming message comes as illegal immigration costs the UK at least ￡4billion a year and as the backlog of asylum cases reached a record 175,000.
Incredibly, Vergriete has now been appointed a -government minister in France, which we are paying ￡500million over three years to tackle the crisis.
Conservative MP Marco Longhi said: “These warm words from the Dunkirk mayor are just encouraging more people to illegally cross the Channel. He is propping up the business model of the vile people-smugglers who endanger the lives of those who make the journey.
“People like these liberal- minded do-gooders don’t give a second’s thought about the consequences of their kind words.”
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Alp Mehmet, chair of campaign group Migration Watch, said of -Vergriete’s approach to those seeking asylum: “He is sending all the wrong -messages and is only encouraging more young men looking for a better life to do it.”
In a letter to residents of the northern town — where thousands congregate in camps before risking their lives by making the deadly crossing — Vergriete spar-ked controversy by comparing the plight of migrants to that of people who fled the Nazi atrocities.
He wrote: “Should we forget our humanity? Let us remember that 70 years ago, our parents or grandparents were ‘these people’.”
Officially, Vergriete supports the general dismantling of migrant camps around Calais.
But he has -previously said: “These people are not -squatting in this region for -pleasure.
“They have fled their -countries with fear in their stomachs in search of asylum in England. All find themselves in camps at the mercy of smugglers — ignoble -profiteers of human misery.”
In 2015, when Dunkirk residents complained about how homeless migrant gangs were using a local swimming pool to wash, Vergriete said that it was his duty “to make people live together”.
He added: “I am not here to build walls. I call for everyone’s open-mindedness.
“The behaviour that comes back to me is not malicious acts on the part of refugees.”
The politician has officially supported an increase in the number of law enforcement officers to fight back against the smugglers.
Vergriete, 55, has also demanded that human rights groups work with the police so that migrants have a “legal framework” to support them.
Last week, The Sun on Sunday revealed how Vergriete’s left-wing regime had angered officials in neighbouring Belgium, who have enjoyed notable successes tackling smugglers without getting huge -payouts from the UK taxpayer.
Police chief Nico Paelinck, who oversees the coastal town of Koksijde, said: “I don’t understand why the French don’t do the same as us.
“But Dunkirk is run by socialists. It’s the -difference between the -political Left and Right.
“We are determined to disrupt the smugglers’ supply chains because they come here from Germany with their nautical gear. We have patrols all over the region and we are also disturbing their activity on the beach by using drones, buggies and 4x4 vehicles.”
In July, at the height of the boat- crossings crisis, Vergriete went on holiday to Morocco.
He only returned to France when he was summoned to join President Emmanuel Macron’s government as housing minister.
In the past year, 45,000 migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats.
Vergriete is due to step down shortly as mayor but has vowed to retain his influence in Dunkirk.
He said: “I will continue to get involved.”
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak came under pressure this week from his own MPs, who questioned why the UK is giving France ￡500million to stop the migrants.
Sir Tim Loughton, who sits on the influential Home Affairs Select Committee, said Belgium had stopped 90 per cent of small boats without receiving any extra money.
Major fines
The UK agreed at a summit with President Macron in March to send the -massive sum to France, spread over three years.
Sir Tim said: “What are we getting for the ￡500million the taxpayer has used to subsidise the French police force in tackling migrant boats? We give nothing to the Belgians. Are we paying the right people?”
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The backlog of asylum cases reached a record 175,000 this month Credit: PA 4
The -number -claiming asylum in the UK is the highest in two decades Credit: EPA
UK ministers have been ordered to take -control of migration, with the -number -claiming asylum here the highest in two decades.
Home Office statistics show a staggering 78,000 people have demanded to stay here as hotel costs are around ￡6MILLION A DAY.
Mr Sunak made the pledge to “stop the boats” as one of his five early promises — but the number crossing the Channel is only down by around 15 per cent this year.
The Government’s controversial Rwanda policy — to send asylum seekers to Africa to have their claims processed — is currently being held up in the courts.
Earlier this month, the Government made a series of announcements on attempts to stop the small boats, including major fines for employers or landlords who allow illegal migrants to rent their properties or work for them
But statistics published earlier this week revealed the number of asylum seekers waiting to learn whether they can remain in the UK has risen by 44 per cent in the past year.
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An estimated 80 per cent of those have been waiting for more than six months.
And the number of new applications — 78,768 — was also the highest for 20 years.
Barge firm's cash-in
THE firm awarded a lucrative -asylum barge contract for the UK has reported a 280 per cent increase in its net profits.
Australian company Corporate Travel Management’s revenue rose 70 per cent to ￡330million.
It was also reported CTM’s annual underlying earnings have more than doubled. Its profits leapt to around ￡85million for the year to June 30, from ￡30million a year earlier.
Boss Jamie Pherous told investors in Australia this week that just one per cent of the UK’s 50,000 asylum seekers would inhabit the new Bibby Stockholm barge.
The firm has faced previous criticism over its running of the Government’s Covid hotel quarantine scheme.
CTM shares rose 16 per cent to ￡11.15 just weeks after it was revealed it had the barge deal.
It said Europe was the biggest contributor to its financial results, and it expected to win more contracts on the back of the UK contract.
The share price for the Brisbane-based firm had fallen to a low of ￡2.78 in March 2020 but rose to a recent high of ￡13.37 in April 2022.