Calais blockade will trigger more migrant attacks and Operation Stack, industry associations warn

A blockade of Calais by French hauliers and farmers demanding the immediate removal of the migrant camps, launched this week, will make drivers a sitting target for migrant attacks and could trigger Operation Stack, the FTA and RHA have warned.

RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said: "The inevitable repercussions of this will surely mean that the authorities on this side of the Channel will have no alternative but to deploy Operation Stack. This will bring yet further misery to hauliers bound for mainland Europe.”

Burnett added: “We have been told that those taking part in the protest are in it for the long haul and they will stay there until they see action to dismantle the camp.

"While we understand the reason for the action, we cannot condone it. The knock-on effects for hauliers, Kent and those returning from their holidays on the Continent will also be in it 'for the long haul' but certainly not as a matter of choice."

FTA called for increased security for hauliers and drivers during the blockade. Chris Yarsley, EU affairs manager, said FTA did not support the blockade but added that “something needs to be done to solve the ongoing migrant crisis in Calais. Having visited the area last week, I have witnessed the increased violence and understand the danger that drivers face on a daily basis".

David Sagnard, president of French union Carpentier Transport and Logistique, said the blockade was prompted by the lack of action by the French authorities.

“This is the last straw, it is the equivalent of pressing the nuclear red button in order to be heard by the authorities,” he added.

The French Haulage Federation also called on the UK government to waive fines of lorry companies and their drivers, when migrants are found in their vehicles.

A spokesman said: “It’s intolerable because we are above all the victims in this affair but are treated like people smugglers.”

A Home Office spokesman said: "The fines imposed exist to ensure that all drivers are taking reasonable measures to stop migrants from boarding their lorries.

"We have recently consulted on proposals to modernise the regime to reflect developments in both the technology available to hauliers and operators, and the tactics used by migrants.”

Picture: Press Association