Hollande warns of "consequences" for Calais border arrangements if Brexit

Francois Hollande yesterday warned Britain there would be "consequences" for Calais border arrangements if it leaves the European Union as David Cameron dismissed claims threats were being orchestrated by Downing Street as a "giant conspiracy theory".

Despite saying he did not want to "scare" British votes, the French President appeared to echo suggestions migrants would be free to cross the Channel into the UK rather than being stopped on French soil after an Out vote in the referendum.

It came after Number 10 was forced to deny it was behind a surprise change in tone from the French government that saw its economy minister warn that "migrants will no longer be in Calais" if voters back Brexit.

Mr Cameron urged British voters to "listen to" the intervention and denied there had been a "stitch-up" by UK officials, saying such claims amounted to a "David Icke-style" conspiracy theory.

However Boris Johnson, the London Mayor and effective leader of the Out campaign, dismissed fears of Brexit by saying: "Donnez moi un break, as we say in Brussels." Other Eurosceptics accused the British government of organising "fake threats" from allies.

The exchanges came as the Prime Minister and his most senior cabinet colleagues visited Amiens for a UK-French summit focussed on defence, security and migration.

Ahead of the meeting Emmanuel Macron, the French economy minister, made headlines by telling the Financial Times that "the day this relationship unravels, migrants will no longer be in Calais".

The remark chimed with Mr Cameron's claim that "The Jungle" - the notorious Calais migrant camp - would move to British soil after Brexit but contradicted previous comments from senior French government figures.

Asked at a press conference if he agreed with the claim, Mr Hollande said: "I don't want to scare you, but I just want to say the truth.

There will be consequences if the United Kingdom is to leave the EU.

"There will be consequences in many areas: on the single market, on financial trade, on economic development between our two countries.

"Now that doesn't mean that everything will be destroyed, I don't want to give you a catastrophic scenario. But there will be consequences especially in terms of people as well."

Mr Hollande said he did not want to put "pressure" on British voters but warned "immigration" arrangements could be affected by Brexit. He added that remaining in the EU also had "consequences" but failed to spell them out.

Mr Cameron announced that Britain will invest an extra £17 million in "priority security infrastructure" in Calais which will help French police clear migrant camps and deport those that do not qualify for asylum.

Asked whether the French warning had been a Downing Street "stitch-up", Mr Cameron said: "When you have ministers in other governments warning about potential consequences that might happen, that would be injurious to the UK, 'Listen to those things'.

"Of course you can say this is all some giant conspiracy, some sort of David Icke-style sort of [conspiracy] – it's just nonsense."

Mr Icke, a former television sports presenter, faced nationwide ridicule by once claiming to be the son of God on Terry Wogan's primetime talk show.

Mr Johnson said the international treaty between Britain and France "has nothing to do with the EU", adding that the warning was all part of a strategy to "scare people" into voting to reject Brexit.

James Cleverly, a Eurosceptic Tory MP, said the warning amounted to "Project Fear (International Edition)" and said the Calais agreement between both countries was "not linked" to EU membership.

Asked about Mr Macron's claim, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We were first aware of it when we saw his comments."

In a separate development, it has emerged the chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has written to all its British workers warning Brexit could drive up costs and affect the company's "employment base".