Britain urged to take in ‘Jungle’ minors

FRENCH President Francois Hollande on Saturday urged Britain to take in 1,500 unaccompanied minors from the “Jungle” as officials stepped up efforts to finish demolishing the almost-deserted Calais migrant camp.

Hailing the evacuation of the sprawling encampment, Hollande vowed France would not accept the emergence of any more makeshift camps, which have become a glaring symbol of Europe’s worst migration crisis since World War II. He pledged youngsters left at a container camp near the site would be dispersed around the country, with the hope that they would be taken in by Britain.

“We had to rise to the challenge of the refugee issue. We could not tolerate the camp and we will not tolerate any others,” he said while visiting a reception centre in Doue-la-Fontaine in western France. “There are 1,500 unaccompanied minors left in Calais and they will be very quickly dispatched to other [reception] centres.”

Hollande said he had spoken to Prime Minister Theresa May to ensure that British officials would “accompany these minors to these centres and would play their part in subsequently welcoming them to the United Kingdom”.

A British government spokeswoman said it was committed to working with France to protect the children and transfer eligible children as soon as possible.

“We have already transferred a considerable number of unaccompanied minors to the UK so far this year, and as the home secretary told parliament this week, several hundred more children and young people will be brought to the UK in the coming days and weeks,” she said.

Britain’s Help Refugees charity estimated that as of Friday there remained over 1,000 unaccompanied children living in the container camp.