'Britain-obsessed' asylum seekers should be let into UK at earliest convenience, says Europe's Justice Commissioner

Rough justice: Jacques Barrot wants a law change to allow 'Britain-obsessed' asylum seekers into the UK

Europe's Justice Commissioner will today demand a change in the law to allow 'Britain-obsessed' asylum seekers into the UK at their earliest convenience.

Jacques Barrot, a former French minister, believes the reform would assist migrants who are sleeping rough in Calais, waiting for a chance to enter Britain.

This includes hundreds who will be evicted this week from the notorious 'Jungle' squat in the town, which riot police plan to destroy.

Under current law the asylum seekers should be sent back to the country where they entered the EU.

But, referring to a proposal which would allow foreigners to claim asylum in any EU country they want, Mr Barrot said: 'In order for the closure of the Jungle to make sense, it is necessary to share the burden between France and Great Britain.

'There should be a solidarity within the EU over asylum.
'National solutions to the problem are not viable.
'The people who are in Calais have crossed Europe and have one obsession - to get to Great Britain.
'With the modification of the current system, we should be able to convince the British to consider the claims of the asylum seekers who are stuck in the Jungle, because they have family links with the UK, or the ability to integrate thanks to the communities of their compatriots (in the UK).'
His proposal will be discussed by European interior ministers today.


Fury: Jacques Barrot believes migrants like these living in a camp in the woods near Calais dubbed the 'jungle' should be allowed into Britain

His comments follow the announcement last week that the Jungle - an area full of migrants' improvised shelters - would be razed to the ground this week, in a bid to make Calais 'watertight' to the 2,000-odd asylum seekers in the area who want to enter Britain.

Mr Barrot said the migrants in Calais who already have family or large compatriot communities in the UK, should be allowed to enter.

The United Nations have also called for Britain to accept some of the migrants from the Jungle.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: 'People seeking asylum should do so in the first safe country they come to. Those not in need of protection will be expected to return home.'
High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said the British government should be prepared to allow migrants with large families already in the UK to enter the country.
The fact that illegal migrants can only claim asylum in the first EU country they come to has offered huge protection to the UK as it tries to stem the tide of those drawn by generous welfare benefits and jobs in the black economy.
The rule dates from 1997, when Tony Blair agreed them at a summit in Dublin. Before then, however, illegal immigrants could be returned directly to the country from which they entered Britain - usually France.
But with both the European Commission and United Nations calling for a change in the law, thousands could soon be allowed to make straight for the UK.
Mr Barrot, Brussels is a member of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling UMP party.
He made his comments about Britain's asylum system to French journalists in Calais prior to Monday's meeting.
Any further influx of asylum seekers under his plan would come at a time when asylum applications to the UK are already rising.
Recent Home Office figures show that a total of 25,930 asylum applications - excluding dependents - were made to come to Britain last year, compared with 23,430 in 2007. Around one in seven claimants is granted the right to stay.
It came as migrants due to be evicted from the 'Jungle' shanty town began setting up alternative camps from where they will continue to plan their illegal journeys to Britain.
Off the radar: Natacha Bouchart, Mayor of Calais, believes hundreds of migrants living in the 'Jungle' camp have already disappeared

Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart, a member of France's ruling UMP Party, said: 'Hundreds of migrants have already disappeared from the Jungle, but we're aware of a multiplication of squats in the centre of town.'
The Jungle, an area of wasteland full of improvised shelters, kitchens and even a mosque close to the town's ferry port, currently houses around 800 men and women who want to claim asylum in Britain or disappear into the black economy.
They play a nightly game of cat and mouse with the police as they try to board lorries and trains heading for Dover.
Police sources in the town have confirmed that CRS riot control officers supported by soldiers would move in to the camp, the largest of many, with batons and flame throwers on Tuesday, the day after Ramadan ends.
'Many of those living in the camp are Muslims from countries like Afghanistan and Iraq who want to get to Britain,' said one senior officer.
'We don't want to offend them by approaching the camp during Ramadan.'
But the local authorities confirmed the announced closure of the camp was simply moving the problem to a different area.
Some 350 CRS riot police had flooded into the area around The Jungle in preparation for its destruction.
'Our orders are to maintain a watching brief until it is time to move in,' said one officer waiting in a patrol vehicle with five others.
Army units were also preparing for the destruction of the camp, which could take up to four days, as makeshift shelters will have to be destroyed.
All are expected to be burnt before the camp is finally ringed off with wire fences. Migrants, meanwhile, were finding other places to live.
'We know a nearby park where we can build a tent and plan our journey to England,' said Khalid, a 19-yard-old originally from Iraq.
'Most of us are used to being moved on, so we are ready to adapt. We will find a place close to the ferry port so that we can keep trying to get to England.'

Nowhere to go: Hundreds of migrants, mostly from Afghanistan, like these living here in the 'Jungle' camp, will be expected to try to get into the UK after the French Government announced it would be closing the camp this week