'We must address problem long before it reaches Calais'

HUNDREDS of millions of people will flee North Africa as migrants in search of a better life unless a “massive” Marshall-style plan is launched to transform the region, former International Development Secretary Sir Andrew Mitchell has warned.

- By David Williamson CHIEF POLITICAL COMMENTATOR

A project comparable to the massive scheme named after then-US Secretary of State George Marshall, to rebuild Europe after the devastation of the Second World War, is needed to prevent such a mass movement of people, Sir Andrew claims.

In a new book, he writes that “illegal migration has undeniably spiralled out of control” and the public are “right to be angry” at factors including the loss of control of borders.

Looking back at last summer’s disastrous election result for the Conservatives, the Tory MP says: “The eye-watering costs of housing asylum seekers, together with a perceived corresponding decline in public services — such as the length of time it took to get a GP appointment - fuelled the not unreasonable view that UK generosity was being meted out unchecked, and that the British people were being taken for fools. Political elites should have learned by now that we patronise voters at our peril.”