1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144 
Talks seek to heighten security at Belgian ports
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• by Jennifer Ball
r The UK government is holding talks with the Belgian authorities aimed at tightening security at its ports in a bid to clamp down on asylum seekers.
The move follows increasing reports that stowaways and people traffickers have begun , to turn their attention to the Belgian ports of Ostende and Zeebrugge following the security clampdown at the French ports and the Channel Tunnel.
Among the proposals is a suggestion that the UK finances an X-ray detection system to check UK bound trucks at Zeebrugge and Ostende, where there are no carbon dioxide checks and the holding area for vehicles waiting to cross the Channel is largely unfenced.
The UK and Belgium would also look to jointly screen passengers trav elling on Eurostar services.
A Home Office spokesman says: "We are in talks with the Belgian authorities about this but they are at an early stage. We currently have no more to say on this."
Scott Walker, international driver representative for the Professional Drivers Association, says: "The government needs to tackle the root cause of the problems. Putting security in Belgium means that illegal immigrants will look for other places to get across and move up the coast to Holland, like they did when security was put in place in France.
"Around 99% of truck drivers are law-abiding people who have been caught up in this through no fault of their own and are facing fines and increasing physical violence for simply doing theirjob."
• The Mayor of Cherbourg, Bernard Cazenueve, has told French news agency AFP that he plans to fight human trafficking after police detained a group of Iraqi immigrants trying to get on board a truck, just days after they were released on a technicality.