Claim: UKIP MEP Mike Hookem took to Twitter to say he'd reported the incident to police in Dunkirk

A UKIP MEP has claimed he was threatened with a gun by migrants as he passed through Dunkirk in northern France.

Mike Hookem, who was elected to the European parliament last year, took to Twitter yesterday morning to say that he had reported the alleged incident to police in Dunkirk but was told he would need to report it by phone.

Brandishing the weapon while Mr Hookem tried to film them, the migrants could be heard shouting 'We need to get to England, this is our problem', it is claimed.

The news comes amid claims a violent British criminal gang are running the migrant smuggling operation currently crippling the French port.

The British gang are said to be using UK-registered car and vans to smuggle 'clients' across the Channel on ferries.

By operating with smaller vehicles with British licence plates, the criminals are believed to arouse less suspicion than the east European articulated lorries commonly associated with people smuggling on the continent.

As the chances of reaching Britain via Dunkirk appear to be higher, desperate migrants are forced to pay €1,500 each to make the journey.

The whole operation is run by a gang leader who claims to have been a 'big criminal in south London', according to The Times.

Yesterday UKIP MEP Mr Hookem claimed that he had been threatened with a gun by migrants as he attempted to film them.

He told his 1,200 Twitter followers that the migrants pulled out a gun on him, but did not give information on the circumstances of the alleged attack.

In a follow-up message Mr Hookem said he had reported the incident to the police in person, but was told he'd need to call the police to formally report allegations of an offence.

In turn, a police source in the Pas de Calais said he was 'not aware' of guns being used by migrants in the area, adding: 'We will investigate any reports as they are made.'

A spokesman for the French gendarmerie said 'credible reports' of a gun being used to threaten members of the public would be dealt with by an armed response unit 'as a matter of course'.

'This would particularly be the case if politicians or other senior officials were involved,' he added.

This is the moment Mike Hookem claims a migrant threatened him with a handgun as he visited a camp on the outskirts of Dunkirk. The UKIP MEP and defence spokesman said his group were invited to access a woodland site by the migrants but claimed the 'situation immediately turned nasty'

Threat: UKIP MEP Mike Hookem - who was elected to the European parliament last year - claimed he has been threatened with a gun by migrants as he passed through Dunkirk in northern France yesterday morning

Call the police: Mr Hookem has not elaborated on the circumstances of the incident, but his claims come as towns and cities in northern France struggle to cope with an influx of migrants hoping to reach Britain

On the tracks: Thousands of desperate people fleeing conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa have made they way to ports such as Calais - just 30 miles from Dunkirk

Migrants attempt to access train tracks leading to the Eurotunnel near Calais in the hope of reaching Britain

Philip Hammond said African migrants threaten to undermine living standards in Europe

The news comes as David Cameron admitted migrants in Calais are now 'threatening' border staff on a nightly basis in a bid to break into Britain.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said 'desperate' migrants were 'marauding around the area' threatening the Channel Tunnel's security.

She added: 'There have been tens of migrants around the tunnel entrance at Coquelle every night seeking to threaten people there and to break through our fences and to enter the UK illegally.'

Thousands of desperate people fleeing conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa have made they way to ports such as Calais - just 30 miles from Dunkirk - where they are living in squalid camps and making nightly attempts to storm the tunnel in the hope of walking through it to the UK.

Meanwhile immigration minister James Brokenshire warned that rogue employers who give jobs to illegal immigrants will be hit with the 'full force' of the government machine.

He said the Government was determined to act against businesses which were denying work to British nationals and driving down wages.

Brokenshire's comments came as amid reports that immigration officers were preparing to mount a wave of raids this autumn targeting building sites, care homes and cleaning contractors.

'Rogue employers who give jobs to illegal migrants are denying work to UK citizens and legal migrants and helping drive down wages,' Mr Brokenshire said.

'Experience tells us that employers who are prepared to cheat employment rules are also likely to breach health and safety rules and pay insufficient tax.

'That's why our new approach will be to use the full force of government machinery to hit them from all angles and take away the unfair advantage enjoyed by those who employ illegal migrants.'

Migrants heading for Britain run along the railway line towards the Channel Tunnel in Calais, northern France

Migrants attempt to access the train tracks to the Eurotunnel terminal near Calais overnight

Breokenshire's intervention came after Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the huge influx of migrants coming from Africa was threatening to undermine social cohesion and living standards across Europe.

Mr Hammond said the continent could not absorb 'millions' of Africans and called for the overhaul of EU laws to ensure those coming simply to find a better way of life could be returned to their own countries.

He said in many cases, migrants knew they once they managed to reach Europe for there to be little chance of them ever being forced to leave.

Hammond's comments were condemned as 'mean-spirited' and 'shameful' by Amnesty International while Labour said the Foreign Secretary was guilty of 'scaremongering'.

Speaking during a visit to Singapore, Mr Hammond said the gap in living standards between the two continents meant there would always be an 'economic motivation' for Africans to try to make it to the EU.

'As long as the Europe Union's laws are the way they are, many of them will only have to set foot in Europe to be pretty confident that they will never be returned to their country of origin,' he told BBC News.

'Now, that is not a sustainable situation because Europe can't protect itself and preserve its standard of living and social structure, if it has to absorb millions of migrants from Africa.'

Migrants continue to camp around the railway tracks in Calais, northern France

A sole migrants walks along the train tracks leading to the EuroTunnel terminal at Frethun near Calais

A pair of migrants walks along the train tracks leading to the EuroTunnel terminal at Frethun near Calais

Migrants run along the train tracks leading to the EuroTunnel terminal at Frethun near Calais overnight

Mr Hammond said ensuring migrants could be returned to their country of origin was also the key to resolving the 'crisis' at Calais, where hundreds are gathered in the hope of being able to make it across the Channel to Britain.

'So long as there are large numbers of pretty desperate migrants marauding around the area there will always be a threat to the tunnel's security,' he said.

Steve Symonds of Amnesty International UK denounced his comments, saying the Government had a duty to protect people fleeing conflicts and brutal regimes.