Source: Mailonline
British millionaire Jude Law has visited the 'Jungle' migrant camp in northern France to highlight the plight of child refugees facing eviction. The actor was one of 145 luvvies, including Stephen Fry and Colin Firth, to put his name to a letter demanding that David Cameron let the hundreds of children living in the camp to come to the UK.
The letter is a response to impending moves by the French authorities to demolish the southern part of the infamous Jungle camp, which critics claim is made up of economic migrants. Charities working in the camps say this will destroy the homes of 3,000 people, including hundreds of children. It would, they claim, ‘uproot again those who have already had to abandon their homes due to war and persecution’.
But opponents point out that many of those living in the Calais jungle are economic migrants simply trying to get into Britain for a better life.
Ministers have resisted calls to take more migrants from the continent – for fear it will encourage others to risk their lives trying to get to Europe. So far more than 96,000 people have signed the petition.
Among the raft of famous faces to lend their name to the letter was Benedict Cumberbatch, who stunned theatregoers late last year with his political rants at the end of his performance in Hamlet at London's Barbican Theatre.
The old Harrovian actor made repeated pleas to the audience on behalf of Syrian refugees, in which he blasted the ‘utter disgrace of the British government’ for not doing enough to ease the crisis. It came just four months after the Sherlock star was awarded a CBE – just one rung below a knighthood – in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list usually approved by Downing Street.
The letter, which has also been signed by Steve Coogan, Jemima Khan and Richard Curtis, calls on David Cameron to ‘intervene as a matter of urgency in the refugee crisis in Calais and Dunkirk’. Mr Law said earlier this week: 'These are innocent, vulnerable children caught up in red tape with the frightening prospect of the demolition of the Jungle hanging over them.
The Talented Mr Ripley star appeared at the camp with Toby Jones, who stars in the new Dad's Army film and veteran playwright Tom Stoppard. Singer Tom Odell and comedian Shappi Khorsandi were also there. They have called for the demolition of the camp to be postponed - it could start as early as Tuesday. The group read out letters from famous historical figures in front of 200 people at the campsite in an event organised by Letters Live.
Figures from charity Help Refugees show that there are 440 children living in the southern section of the camp, 291 of whom are unaccompanied. Around 3,700 people in total live in the camp.
The demolition by French authorities is part of efforts to discourage migrants from trying to smuggle themselves to Britain via the ferries or the tunnel under the Channel. The celebrities' letter read: 'This is a humanitarian crisis that needs to be acknowledged as such and it is imperative that we do everything we can to help these innocent and highly vulnerable refugees, especially the minors, as swiftly as is humanly possible. 'Such an enforced move would uproot again those who have already had to abandon their homes due to war and persecution.'
The signatories say the eviction threatens ‘community facilities’ such as three mosques, a library and a theatre. Other signatories of the letter are actress Helena Bonham Carter, presenter Gary Lineker and actors Idris Elba.
