France-Britain border staying in Calais as May puts kibosh on French scaremongering
ANOTHER Project Fear scare bites the dust.
We were told the France-Britain border would be shifted here from Calais if we left the EU. But that was kiboshed yesterday at the first meeting between Theresa May and Francois Hollande.
That said, the pipsqueak President still has revenge in mind over Brexit.
Germany may want us to have time to figure out the detailed deal we want. Hollande wants it over and done. He won’t budge on freedom of movement if we want single market access either.
We reckon a delay before giving in our notice would be good all round.
Hollande obviously needs more time to calm down, for starters.
Laws ignored
DIPLOMATIC immunity has long been a get-out-of-jail-free card for foreign criminals working as envoys in Britain.
Last year 11 dodged justice over serious crimes, one a paedophile allegation.
That’s not a huge number compared with the 22,500 foreign diplomats here. But consider, too, the financial cost as embassies cock a snook at British law.
In 2015, £316,171 in parking fines went unpaid. Almost £1million is owed in business rates. And how about the staggering £95.8MILLION in congestion charge fees unpaid since 2003?
Why do we let them get away with it?
Boris Johnson’s new Foreign Office team must chase every embassy for payment.
Hidden scandal
ON the day British families faced three-hour waits to get into France, we discover the number of illegal migrants arriving here hiding on lorries has tripled.
It is fair enough for France to increase security checks after the Nice attacks.
But it is scandalous that truckloads of young men trundle unseen in the opposite direction at an unprecedented rate. And how many more must there be beyond the 240 a week being caught?
When will our laughable border “controls” get a grip on it?
Labour split
MANY Labour MPs still cannot imagine their party splitting. Jeremy Corbyn may have changed a few minds yesterday.
If he keeps the leadership after the new contest, as seems probable, he intends to subject them all to compulsory reselection for their own seats.
Moderates still on Corbyn’s back benches will doubtless then be replaced by hard-Left stooges more to his liking - and much less to voters’ liking.
At which point the old duffer will complete the takeover and destruction of a once-great party that not so long ago spent 13 years in power.
Will the rebels bow out with a whimper? Or regroup and fight?