Desperate migrants attempting to climb the fence at Calais should be shot with machine guns to deter others, according to a controversial English Democrat politician.

Steve Uncles, who wants to be Kent's next Police and Crime Commissioner, told News Shopper if migrants saw others being killed, it would "make the problem go away".

The 51-year-old Wilmington resident said the border guards should be armed, and allowed to use their weapons if forced to do so.

News Shopper:

Mr Uncles added: "Normally a warning shot is fired in the first place.

"If the fences do not deter people, there needs to be some sort of action to stop them.

"I think if we adopted that policy, the problem would go away.

"If someone ended up being shot, it would stop everyone else.

"The idea is really that a border guard who's armed should have the prerogative to shoot."

Mr Uncles, who was born in Blackheath and attended Chislehurst & Sidcup Grammar School and University of Greenwich, has little sympathy for asylum seekers who are not prepared to "queue up".

He added: "I would not dream of climbing a fence to get over a border.

"I am not saying we should shoot people who are not climbing the fence.

"I do not think I am alone in my view, I think it's an opinion which a lot of people share, and I think it's a valid opinion."

News Shopper contacted Mr Uncles after he posted a controversial comment on Facebook last Wednesday (July 29).

News Shopper:

Mr Uncles wrote: "The only cost effective way to stop illegal immigrants trying to storm through the Channel Tunnel is to set up a machine gun and take out a few people - that would stop it very quickly, and immediately cut dead this tactic.

"Who has got the guts to do this in our politically correct society?"

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