The FTA and RHA are at odds over a decision by the government to spend a further £44.5m on security for the Port of Calais.
The FTA said there was evidence of “tangible migrant activity” not only in Calais but also on the roads leading up to the port town and that the priority was drivers’ safety.
It therefore welcomed the multi-million pound investment by the UK government to strengthen security, improve fencing, CCTV and detection technology.
However, the RHA’s chief executive Richard Burnett said he was “astonished” by the move and described the French port as a money pit: “We estimate that over £100m has already been spent on improving security at the port,” he said.
“So why is more investment needed? We already have it on very good authority that the heartbeat monitors installed at the border are not being used.
“[The] Government should be pressing the French authorities to ensure that the security equipment already in place is being used before the British taxpayer is asked to fork out for more.”
Burnett added that despite the huge sums already invested, the lives of thousands of HGV drivers were still being put at risk and he called for transparency over where the money was being spent: “Simply throwing more money at the problem won’t make it go away.”
Pauline Bastidon, FTA head of European policy, said the increase in migrant activity would “only be solved through reinforced cooperation between the French and the UK governments.
"The two governments have agreed to provide additional funding to the relocation of migrants away from the Calais and Dunkirk areas, a measure we support as it will help relieve a bit of the pressure on the area and on our drivers going through these coastal regions.
“It will also be important to ensure that a new camp does not appear where the old one was, and while the measures should be helpful in this respect, we also welcome the commitment from the French President that no new camp will be built or allowed to grow to replace the jungle.
“With Brexit looming on the horizon, this cooperation is more crucial now than ever,” she added.
