The biggest clearance since October 2016

Early this morning the police cordoned off and cleared the largest refugee settlement currently in Calais.

All roads and exits were blocked, people were rounded up and put on coaches, and tents and possessions cleared. Police presence was heavy and intimidating.

This was the first area where people began to gather when they returned, months after the closure of the main jungle in 2016. Yesterday it was home to between 300 and 400 refugees, with Africans predominantly on one side and Iranians predominantly on the other.

As with previous clearances this solves nothing as it does not change the underlying conditions that lead to these illegal settlements springing up: the terrible things that force people to flee their homes; the lack of a safe and legal route for the small number for whom the UK is the only choice; the lack of humane reception centres or anywhere else they can go.

Today is another sad day. We hope the time that a real solution is found.