On Friday, Cameron held a phone conversation with French President Francois Hollande discussing the countries’ response to repeated attempts by hundreds of undocumented migrants to cross over into the United Kingdom from Calais, causing traffic disruptions in the Channel Tunnel.
According to the UK prime minister, the crisis is expected to last until September.
"It is wrong for UK businesses and families to face these costs given border security failures in France. Your discussions with the French government should therefore include a request for compensation backed up by any diplomatic pressure that may become necessary. Compensation should cover all losses," the acting Labour Leader Harriet Harman said in the open letter.
Harman added that measures promised by Cameron to tackle the crisis, such as more sniffer dogs and fences, would serve only as a short-term solution to the problem.
The Calais crisis is costing transport companies over $1 million a day because of delays as thousands of trucks are stuck in Kent trying to enter the tunnel from the UK side, according to Freight Transport Association data.
Europe is experiencing a major migrant crisis as thousands of people flee conflict-torn countries in North Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South Asia. According to UN data, 137,000 refugees crossed the Mediterranean Sea for Europe in the first six months of 2015.
