A Ukip MEP says he was threatened at gunpoint by “migrants” as he visited a port town in northern France.
Mike Hookem, who represents Yorkshire and the Humber in the European Parliament, claimed the incident had occurred at a camp in Dunkirk.
“Just been threatened with a gun by migrants in Dunkirk,” he tweeted on Monday afternoon, before adding that he had reported the incident to the police.
After a number of users on social media suggested that the incident had been invented for publicity reasons, Mr Hookem added:
“All those saying I made it up: unlucky. We have footage. Looking forward to the apologies.”
Mr Hookem did not initially elaborate on the incident in his messages posted on online.
He later told The Sun newspaper he had been visiting a camp that was home to some of the migrants whilst on a fact-finding mission to France.
In pictures: Calais crisis intensifies
In a video posted on a Ukip website he said: “The measures being put in place at the moment … area short term fix – this is not going to solve the problem.
“What we need to do is to stop these people in the Mediterranean, turn them around, and send them back where they come from.”
Yesterday Conservative Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond accused migrants seeking a better life in Europe of undermining the continent’s “standard of living”.
He made his comments as 17 suspected unauthorised migrants were found in a single lorry travelling on the M1 near St Albans.
Police officers stopped the vehicle after an alert from a member of the public.
