Cambridge academic is kicked out of France after riots that rocked Calais
A CAMBRIDGE University academic was kicked out of France yesterday after being accused of throwing missiles and breaking the window of a police van during the Calais riots.
Steven Martin, 31, was also accused of orchestrating the violence that shut down the French port on Monday, but was not subsequently charged.
Martin appeared in court alongside fellow Briton Richard Jones, 19, after police claimed they were members of the Left-wing No Borders movement that calls for the abolition of borders across Europe.
They also accused Martin of using his scientific background to try to ‘synthesise’ tear gas in a makeshift laboratory in the Jungle refugee camp, although no charges were laid.
The No Borders group is accused of fomenting scenes of ‘utter chaos’ to allow migrants to sneak on to lorries bound for Britain.
The British pair were arrested after mobs of migrants threw tree trunks, rocks and even mattresses on to a busy arterial road into Calais on Monday before having running battles with police.
Martin and Jones, from Denbigh in North Wales, appeared in court in the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer yesterday. Both strongly deny they are part of No Borders or that they advocate violence.
Martin had been accused by police of directing the riot, and ‘ co- ordinating’ squads of migrants towards areas where the police presence was stretched. But the academic – formally accused only of throwing missiles and breaking the van window – was cleared on both counts by magistrates, despite the testimony of five officers.
Jones was also accused of playing an instrumental role in the rampage, but said he was merely trying to defuse the situation.
He admitted swearing at a police officer and calling him a ‘Nazi’ and was handed a two-month suspended sentence.
A lawyer representing the police had told the court: ‘These activists created tension so that migrants would act violently towards police, who had come to talk to them peacefully.
‘This is a provocation from activists who used the word “Nazi”, which is extremely offensive.’
After the hearing, both men were served with notices demanding that they leave the country immediately due to ‘their behaviour and attitude towards the police and the threat to public order’.
Martin denied being a member of No Borders, but acknowledged the group’s existence, saying: ‘They see rock-throwing as a legitimate form of defence.’
Martin was a research associate at the Cambridge Institute of Public Health who left to volunteer in Calais in December. He specialised in treatment for patients in early dementia. He said yesterday: ‘They accused me of throwing rocks but I have broken my arm and can’t even pick up a rock.’
Jones has been volunteering in the Ashram Kitchen, which serves breakfast and lunch to inhabitants of the Jungle, for two months.
Both men say they plan to return to the UK before moving to Greece to help there. French authorities
‘Extremely offensive’
say No Borders supporters mingle with aid workers in the Jungle, and that the group is made up of 50 hardcore activists, mainly Britons from privileged backgrounds.
A Calais police source said: ‘The No Borders activists spend their time accusing officers of violence, while acting like thugs themselves. Those who suffer most from this are the refugees they are pretending to help.’ French politician Xavier Bertrand said No Borders was ‘a scandalous group and should be punished’, while Calais deputy mayor Philippe Mignonet has called on British police to help the French authorities identify any troublemakers.
‘It’s frustrating having the anarchists and activists from England here to stir up trouble,’ he said. ‘I think the English police forces know who they are and should come here. It is too easy for these people to leave their country.’
Gilles Debove, of the Calais police union, said: ‘I cannot understand why British citizens come to Calais to incite migrants to break the law and defy the French authorities.’
In January, British anarchists were among some 35 people arrested in Calais after leading an ‘invasion’ of the ferry port by 500 migrants. The thugs tore down security fences and threatened violence, and also defaced a statue of France’s wartime leader and former president Charles de Gaulle.
On Tuesday night, small outbreaks of disorder persisted in Calais and one migrant was arrested, as groups continued to try to block traffic so they could board UK-bound lorries.