LONDON: Britain will offer the strong security fences used at this week’s Nato summit to the French port of Calais, which is struggling to block migrants seeking illegal passage to Britain.

Immigration minister James Brokenshire said on Sunday the donated fencing could replace and enlarge the “inadequate” infrastructure currently in place.

His comments come after several chaotic incidents in recent weeks in which mainly African migrants were able largely to get around existing fences and security staff in Calais.

The situation in the city, on France’s northeast coast, has prompted its mayor, Natacha Bouchart, to threaten to shut down the port entirely.

She has claimed that migrants see Britain — around 20 miles away across the Channel — as an “Eldorado” thanks to the way its immigration system is run.

But Brokenshire claimed Britain was not a “soft touch” for illegal immigrants.

“This government has been working hard to restore control to our immigration system, stamping out the abuse that was widespread,” he wrote in The Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

“We have long been alive to the challenges posed in Calais, which has been the access point to Britain from the continent for centuries.

“We will offer our French partners the fences that were used this week to keep the Nato summit safe.

“These could replace and enlarge the inadequate fencing at Calais, which is too easy for illegal immigrants to scale. “French police say there are between 1,200 and 1,300 migrants in Calais, mostly from east Africa, looking for illegal passage into Britain.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2014