Britain and France should call in the UN to help resolve the dangerous migrant crisis in Calais, according to Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary and Labour leadership candidate.
Cooper said intervention from the UN was necessary to end the deadlock that is seeing the French government leave people to attempt to enter the UK illegally.
Speaking to the Guardian, she proposed an agreement that would allow the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) to start registering asylum applicants among those camping in Calais.
At the same time, the UK government should also accept more UN-certified refugees who may be fleeing conflicts such as that in Syria, she said.
Cooper made the proposal after Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary, drew criticism for talking about “marauding” African migrants and warning that they could threaten Europe’s living standards and social structures.
Hammond defended his comments on Monday, saying they made sense in the context of the question. He told a press conference in South Korea: “We have a significant number of people around the Calais areas moving in numbers. And because they are moving en masse in numbers they can pose a threat to the security of the Channel Tunnel, which was the context in which the question was asked.”
The prime minister’s spokeswoman said he shared concerns about the pressure on public services due to immigration, but wanted to focus on practical solutions to the situation.
David Cameron has been criticised for referring to “swarms” of migrants, in language that charities said made them sound like insects, not humans.
The UK government has already sent in extra help for the French police, including strengthened fencing and more dogs, but migrants are still risking their lives in an attempt to cross the border.
Cooper said calling in the UN would be a “mature and humane response” to the dangerous situation faced by thousands of migrants and the disruption suffered by holidaymakers.
“The government’s impractical and frankly shameful response to Calais is unacceptable,” she said. “We have the spectacle of a clueless foreign secretary using dehumanising language about people, including many who have fled the conflict in Syria, rather than putting forward a proper humanitarian plan befitting a proud and outward-looking country like Britain.
“Under the last Labour government a deal was hammered out to close Sangatte and process those living there to prevent the dangerous situation we are seeing now – people risking their lives trying to enter the UK illegally. We need a similar deal once again.
“I’m calling on the prime minister to agree with President [François] Hollande for the UNHCR to be brought in to register those people camping out at Calais, and go through a proper process of managing asylum applicants.”
The IPPR thinktank has also suggested getting the UNHCR to process migrants, pointing out that was how a similar crisis at Sangatte was resolved in 2002 through a deal with the French government.
Last week, the UNHCR expressed concern about the dire living conditions of an estimated 3,000 refugees and migrants in Calais and elsewhere on the northern coast of France.
It also raised concern over the “worrying” increase in deaths among those attempting to cross the Channel, saying there were at least 10 known cases since the beginning of June.
The organisation said it was “ready to further assist France, the UK and other EU states, in finding practical and comprehensive solutions”.
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