Brexit could spark rush on Channel Tunnel, says Eurotunnel boss

Britain's decision to quit the EU could lead to a summer surge in illegal migrants trying to enter the country from France, the head of Eurotunnel has warned.

The channel tunnel may see a rush of migrants, a transport boss has warned. (Picture: Denis Charlet/AFP)

Jacques Gounon, the firm’s chief executive and chairman, said Brexit had given migrants a “clear signal” that the Anglo-French border would become “a huge wall, similar to the Berlin Wall, almost impossible to overcome”.

He spoke in Calais as the company unveiled new aerial drones armed with cameras to boost security on the French side of the tunnel by spotting potential trespassers.

Mr Gounon told the Press Association: “I’m afraid that any Brexit consequences could give a threat to migrants that they could be prevented from going to the UK - definitively going to the UK - in the years to come.

“This could generate an additional new migrant pressure, in order for such people, desperately, to reach the UK before Brexit is enforced.

“So I do think and I’m afraid that we could have an increased migrant pressure during this summer, as a Brexit consequence.”