Eurotunnel fights to close refugee base
Page 9
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• by Dominic Perry
:urotunnel has taken its fight against stowaway problems to a mew level this week by issuing a art to close down the nearby 'efugee centre—and lodging )apers at the UK's High Court )ver government plans to nclude the firm in the £2,000)er-head penalty scheme.
The writ issued in the kdministrative Court in Lille, 'ranee, requests an immediate annulment of the requisition of he building in Sangatte which is • un by the Red Cross. Eurounnel claims its security "has
been compromised by the creation, just 2km away, of a refuge containing large numbers of asylum seekers whose sole intention is to reach the UK".
This follows a recent memo to staff from chief executive Phillipe Lazare in which he likens the Sangatte centre to a "waiting room" for its 700 residents.
The Channel Tunnel operator is also seeking a judicial review to stop the government from including it in the £2,000per-head penalty scheme already imposed on hauliers and ferry operators. Eurotunnel claims this move is unlawful and says the treaty governing the tunnel requires the French and British government to act together in matters of security (CM 26 July-1 Aug).
The Home Office has not yet confirmed twill press ahead with the scheme; a six-month consultation period ends in the early autumn. But Eurotunnel has decided to pre-empt any decision by lodging the legal papers.
A Home Office spokesman defends the plan as "a proportionate response to a serious problem".