LONDON, Sept 27: Britain said on Thursday that France had agreed to close down a refugee camp near Calais from where asylum seekers used to make attempts to enter Britain.

As part of measures to discourage refugees, British Home Secretary David Blunkett announced on Thursday that the government had undertaken a screening programme of the 1000-plus inmates of the camp, mostly from Afghanistan and Iraq, and the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees would decide which asylum seekers were genuine refugees.

An official told Dawn that most of the Afghans would not qualify for refugee status under the new asylum policy. They would be offered a a grant of 2,000 pounds to help them return home.

Mr Blunkett said Britain would accept almost half of those given refugee status. Those who failed to leave would be deported, he added.

London and Paris finalized the package on Thursday and pledged to resolve the problem of illegal entry across the English Channel.