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UK Rules Out Changes To Calais Agreement On Border Checks

Britain and France have pledged to work together to address the Calais migrant crisis - after Downing Street made clear it will resist attempts to change the agreement on border checks there.

The two governments presented a united front after a meeting between Home Secretary Amber Rudd and her counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve in Paris.

It follows controversy over a proposal to allow migrants to lodge UK asylum claims on French soil - a plan dismissed by a Home Office source as a "complete non-starter".

A joint statement from both governments said: "In the face of the challenges posed by ongoing migratory flows in Europe, and taking into account the migratory pressure in the Calais region and the particularly difficult humanitarian situation, we are committed to working together to strengthen the security of our shared border, to strongly diminish the migratory pressure in Calais and preserve the vital economic link supported by the juxtaposed controls in Calais."

:: Calais Hotspot: French Politicians Under Pressure

The two nations said they were committed to a number of specific steps, including:

:: Further securing the ports and tunnel in the region. Britain has already provided around £85m to improve security;

:: Addressing humanitarian challenges in Calais, where about 7,000 migrants are now gathered - including 5,000 without housing;

:: Continuing to work together to return illegal migrants in Calais who are not in need of protection;

:: Bringing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to the UK when in their best interest.

The statement - which also reaffirmed a commitment to closer cooperation on counter-terrorism, security and migration - came after the long-standing agreement on border controls came under scrutiny.

Currently, British immigration officials check passports in Calais while their French counterparts do the same in Dover, an arrangement which is known as "juxtaposed controls".

Xavier Bertrand, president of the Hauts-de-France Nord Pas De Calais-Picardie region, which includes Calais, said he wants a "new treatment" for asylum seekers there.

He said: "If the British Government don't want to open this discussion, we will tell you the Touquet Agreement (the official name for the juxtaposed controls) is over."

A Downing Street spokesman said French politicians had called for changes to the Le Touquet arrangements in the past, but that the Paris government's continued support for the agreement was reiterated in talks between Prime Minister Theresa May and French president Francois Hollande.

Asked about presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy's call for a processing centre in England to deal with asylum requests from those in Calais, the Number 10 spokesman declined to speculate on the policy of a possible future French government.

He pointed out that it was Mr Sarkozy who first struck the Le Touquet deal with the UK when he was interior minister.