Last hope for migrant kids

WITH hours to go before workers begin to demolish France’s “Jungle” migrant camp today, officials were racing yesterday to process as many young people as possible to be transferred to Britain.

The pace was brisk at the camp outside Calais yesterday, with young migrants shown into a container where British Home Office officials have set up shop.

“We have conducted 600 interviews in all, and this week 194 minors will have left Calais for Britain,” an official for a charity organisation assisting in the operation said.

The aim is to deal with as many cases as they can, out of about 1 300 minors identified in the camp, including 500 with links to Britain.

The second part of the task is to convince London to accept as many as possible.

But it was still unclear yesterday how many Britain would take, although the figure of 600 transfers was the widely held estimate.

The issue is sensitive. A French official source described the negotiations with London as very tough and said: “We would like to go further.”

Only 70 children were transferred between the start of the year and early this month, before plans to tear down the camp swung into high gear.

Britain was accused of dragging its feet but France was also accused of holding up the process.

Any minors passed over during the last days of the process will see their chances of being admitted legally to Britain dwindle once the Jungle is razed, a major operation scheduled to start today. – AFP