Monday, June 20, 2016

Complaint to Foreign office re blocking of aid convoy to Calais

The Rt Hon Philip Hammond
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Downing Street West
LONDON
SW1A 2AL


Re: refusal of entry to France
20 June  2016

Dear Secretary of State

I am writing to ask you to complain to the French government in the strongest possible terms over their refusal to allow an aid convoy delivering aid to refugees in Calais to enter France.

On Saturday 18 June around 250 cars, vans and lorries attempted to deliver aid to refugees in France.  This had been planned for many months (I signed up several months ago), and we were bringing many tons of urgently needed aid for some of the most desperate people.

When we got to Dover we were help up at the port and the French authorities refused to allow us through and took around an hour to process a few cars before rejecting them.  Not only is there supposed to be free movement of people within the EU, but we were an aid convoy delivering aid.  If this had been aid to refugees in some other country the convoy would have been applauded and supported by the French government, but instead they were preventing its delivery.

Please “request and require” of the French authorities that they “allow [UK citizens] to pass freely without let or hindrance, and afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary”.  And that they allow all future aid convoys through.

I look forward to hearing what you have done and the French response.


Yours sincerely



Tom Franklin



CC: Julian Sturdy MP

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