SURREY Police and Crime Commissioner Kevin Hurley has expressed concern about the potential threat posed to the UK by the Calais ‘jungle’ refugee camp.

Appearing on the BBC show Inside Out, Mr Hurley visited the infamous refugee camp with BBC camera crew to investigate the situation in France.

Patrolling the camp Mr Hurley expressed concern “this is completely un-policed space” in which organised criminals could be operating freely.

One refugee living in the camp told the Surrey police commissioner that there were “definitely people who supported the ideology of Isis Daesh” living in the camp.

Mr Hurley, who was formerly employed by the City of London Police as a head of counter terrorism, described the Calais camp as a “potential hiding place” for jihadists.

He added the camp could be used as a route into the UK for extremists looking to enter the country.

“If I were a returning jihadi I would smuggle myself in among this group - you’d easily get lost,” said Mr Hurley.

The commissioner, who is running for re-election this May, later defended his comments in response to criticism by charities working in the camp.

He wrote on his 2016 election Facebook page: “As one has come to expect my comments have been deliberately misinterpreted by those who don’t find them matching their view of the world.

“It has been no surprise to me that so many of those who dissent have been offensive and most unpleasant to me. I am apparently not allowed to feel alarmed when surrounded by hostile groups of young men when in isolated areas of the Calais camp.

“I might add these were less worrying than several hostile approaches by emotional ‘aid workers’ that resulted in crowds of young men paying an interest and effectively following the lead of the ‘aid workers’."

He added: “Our borders are insecure, in Surrey alone police found 400 illegal immigrants last year, so how many were missed?”

A spokesman for Care4Calais, a charity operating in the Calais refugee camp, said: “The overwhelming experience for the Care4Calais team is that all the individuals we meet in the camp are just ordinary people who have experienced terrible things and desperately need our help, care and compassion.”

According to MI5 the UK threat level remains at ‘severe’ for international terrorism indicating that an attack is considered highly likely.

• If you missed Inside Out, aired on Wednesday, January 13, you can catch up with it online via the BBC iPlayer.