'We go to England or die,' say defiant asylum-seekers

France's policy of dealing with asylum-seekers trying to reach Britain was thrown into confusion yesterday after 70 migrants occupying a Calais church refused an offer of a five-day amnesty. With cheers and applause inside the St Pierre- St Paul church, they backed their leaders who had declared: "We want to go to England or to die.''

The amnesty proposal made by the regional government of the Pas-de-Calais Department was in marked contrast to a previous approach by the hard-line interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, whose elite CRS riot police had surrounded the building the previous evening.

Shortly after mid-day yesterday, Michel Heuze, sub-prefect of Pas-de-Calais, emerged from the church and announced on the steps that the offer would allow the asylum-seekers to have special passes which cleared them to come and go in Calais without being arrested. He said: "They have five days to think about their future and at the same time, we will try to find a solution. We don't have a solution but we need to find one.''

When M Heuze was asked if the asylum seekers would be granted their request to join 1,600 others at the Red Cross centre at nearby Sangatte, which the French Government closed to new arrivals last week, the official emphatically replied: "No, Sangatte is closed.'' Minutes later, when the offer was made to the asylum-seekers it was flatly rejected.

Michael Dauvergne, a human rights activist who has remained inside the church acting as a translator for the asylum-seekers, many from Iraq, said the only interest of the migrants was to reach Britain. He said: "They say five days is not enough. They say we cannot try to go to England in five days. We need one month.''

The asylum-seekers were offered temporary shelter in the church by the communist Mayor of Calais Jacky Henin, with the consent of the priest, Pierre Boutoille. But the building has only one toilet and no showers and the priest believes that after four days the occupation cannot continue much longer. "Health conditions inside the church are awful," he told reporters.

Yesterday, M Henin travelled to Paris for a crisis meeting with M Sarkozy after which the Mayor issued an ultimatum to the asylum seekers. He said: "We agreed the occupation of the church could not continue for more than 24 hours for health reasons. After that, the state will assume its responsibilities ... In other words, it will have the church evacuated in a manner.''

The ultimatum – with a deadline of 11.00am today – did not seem to square entirely with the regional government's message of a five-day reprieve, and amid the confusion, the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, called yesterday for the church asylum-seekers to be dealt with in the same manner as the Sangatte residents, whose claims for asylum in Britain or France are being considered before the centre's final closure next April. Yesterday, M Sarkozy said more than 5,000 asylum-seekers have been given badges recognising their right to stay at Sangatte until then. Those outside the camp itself – more than 3,300 - are believed to have left the area, looking for other routes into Britain.

The church stand-off is turning into a serious public relations problem for M Sarkozy who on Tuesday last week fulfilled an agreement with the British Government to close Sangatte to new arrivals. Officials are examining which inhabitants have genuine cases for political asylum. To those who do not, France is to offer cash to fund their return home.

As the drama was played out in front of the television cameras, about 50 asylum-seekers excluded from the church lay down on blankets in front of the police cordon. One later tried to set fire to himself and others pledged to go on hunger strike.

Last night the Home Office said the latest developments in Calais were "entirely a matter for the French".