Sir – The dreaming spires depends on a steady stream of newcomers from other countries and always has. Oxford’s hospitals, the car factory and our restaurants, for example, would collapse without migrants.
Oxford’s universities benefit hugely from foreign students and the city from overseas tourists. At the General Election the Tories promised to crack down on “abuse of the immigration system”. So where was Home Secretary, Theresa May MP, when this Calais chaos started?
Surely the Afghans, Syrians, Ethiopians and the rest, living in a make-shift camp, breaking through wire fences, and hiding in lorries is an abuse of the system?
Why has it taken the Prime Minister, David Cameron, so long to act? Why is he doing so little? The new Tory Government should take its fair share of would-be migrants arriving in Europe through Turkey and North Africa, process potential refugees in a civilised and humane manner in France, and allow a sensible number of settlers (and students) from outside the European Union, to come to Britain each year Theresa May and David Cameron should get their act together. These hold-ups for holiday-makers and truck drivers at Calais are a totally unacceptable abuse of the system.
John Tanner
City and county councillor
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