Albanian migrants are not crossing Channel from ‘war-torn’ country, says Kent councillor

© PA/PA A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent – PA/PA

A Kent County councillor has said Albanian migrants are not crossing the Channel from a “war-torn country”. 

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Conservative councillor Nigel Collor said he would like to see the vessels stopped from crossing to the UK, following the news that just under 1,000 people had made it across the Channel in small boats on Saturday. 

Asked on Monday about what he would like to see done, he said: “I’d like to see them stop the boats coming across. I know this is something that’s been going on for a few years and if they stopped the boats coming in you wouldn’t have the problem.

“A lot of people these days allegedly are coming from places like Albania, well, I’m not too sure personally what the situation is there but my understanding is it’s not war-torn.”

Asked how he would stop the boats, he said: “Well, we’ve got to work closely with the French, haven’t we? It’s where they’re coming from.”

Last week figures showed some 12,000 Albanians had entered the UK on small boats compared with 800 last year. 

A Home Office official said at the time the rise had been “exponential” and that they believed it had been caused by Albanian criminal gangs gaining a foothold in the north of France where they have been facilitating large numbers of migrants. 

On Sunday a Border Force migrant centre in Dover was petrol bombed by a man who then killed himself.

Mr Collor said he was “horrified” when he heard that incendiary devices had been thrown at the centre. 

He said: “My understanding is a person came along in a private car, threw two alleged petrol bombs at the building which set it on fire and then drove away, and reports say he committed suicide.”

He said local residents are “horrified at the overall situation” and. Asked about what sorts of concerns residents are expressing, he said: “They’re 50/50 really. Some say words I wouldn’t put out on the media, and some say, you know, ‘Let’s help these folks and at least make sure they’re looked after’.”

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