Lee Anderson has told GB News he was blocked by armed French Police “within minutes” of arrival on the northern coastline.
Speaking to the People’s Channel live from Loon-Plage in Northern France, the Reform UK Chairman said he and his team were approached by officers “armed to the teeth”, who stopped them from approaching the beach for a fact-finding mission.
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Challenging Mr Anderson, host Ellie Costello quizzed him on Reform UK’s plans to “deploy the Royal Navy” into the Channel, and the criticism from the French that it would “break international law and violate its sovereignty”.
Hitting back at the French, Mr Anderson told GB News: “It won’t be breaking any laws, these are rescue missions, and as soon as the dinghy goes into the water in France, they are at risk from serious harm or even worse, drowning in the Channel.
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“So this is a mission of mercy, a rescue mission to pick these people up and bring them back to France. It’s as simple as that.”
Mr Anderson argued: “And by the way, the French have had nearly £1billion from the British taxpayer over the last few years to stop this illegal migrant trade.
“And if, as the French say, they want to stop this trade, they should be only too happy to help us do this.”
Recalling his interaction with the French authorities upon their arrival, the Reform Chairman declared that “within minutes”, they were approached by police “with their tear gas on”.
He revealed: “At about 4am this morning, with our hi-vis jackets on and a few cameras, within minutes, the French police, armed to the teeth, turned up with a tear gas on and asked what we’re doing.
“They asked to see our ID, they asked the press people to see their press passes, and they stopped us going on the beach.”
Mr Anderson added: “I thought my word, if only they could be as proactive when the illegal migrants are trying to jump on a dinghy and get to the UK?”
Detailing the conditions of the migrant camp he is visiting, Mr Anderson said the large camp has “disgusting” living conditions, with many “living in squalor”.
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He said: “We’re outside of a migrant camp between Calais and Dunkirk. We’ve been up early doors this morning, on the beach at about 4am looking for possible boat crossings. We didn’t see any, but we saw signs that they’d been crossing there before.
“We saw a dinghy that had been cut up and left on the beach, so we’ve made our way to one of the migrant camps to see what’s going off here. It’s quite a big camp, to be honest with you. It’s disgusting conditions here.
“There’s bonfires, there’s lots of rubbish everywhere, there’s people wandering around, we’ve seen the NGO officers as well. This is where the journey starts across the Channel.”
He stressed: “A lot of people in these camps have come from their countries thousands and thousands of miles away.
“And now they’re camped here and living in all sorts of squalid conditions, ready to make that journey across the Channel.”
“And it begs the question, why are these people living like this when they could claim asylum in France?”
In a statement, a Home Office spokesperson told GB News: “This Government is bearing down on small boat crossings with removals of small boat migrants at record levels and asylum claims down by 12 per cent.
“We have removed or deported almost 70,000 people who were here illegally, an increase of 41 per cent, and we’re going further to remove the incentives that draw illegal migrants to this country.”
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