Calais

Damian Green Excerpts

Tuesday 14th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

The hon. Lady should take pride in the work that the United Kingdom is doing to support refugees from Syria. We are taking asylum seekers from Syria and we have our vulnerable persons relocation scheme. Crucially, we are working to support hundreds of thousands of people in the region with medical supplies, water, food and shelter, and that is the best place to spend the money because many of those people look forward to an opportunity to return to their homes in due course.

[Damian Green (Ashford) (Con)]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for her tribute to the forbearance of the people of Kent—I might have chosen a slightly sharper word to describe the mood in Kent last week. In the context of the welcome increase in security at Calais that she has outlined, has she had any indication from the French authorities of increased security at the Eurotunnel exit at Coquelles? As she knows, it takes a third of the freight and, if it is kept secure, at least one route not directly associated with the Calais strike can be kept flowing at all times.

[Mrs May]

My right hon. Friend makes an important point. We are working with the French authorities to improve the security at Coquelles and with Eurotunnel on what more can be done on that route to ensure that we are able to protect the lorry drivers using it.