A joint returns agreement between the UK and France would help to put an end to "evil" people trafficking in the Channel, the immigration minister has said.

       Kevin Foster said Britain can do more to secure its borders and combat criminal gangs after 27 people died during a crossing attempt yesterday.

       "We’re keen to offer resources on top of money, and of course to look whether we can get a returns agreement as well which would ultimately smash the model of the people trafficking gangs," he told BBC Breakfast.

       Mr Foster said France had already stopped 20,000 migrants from reaching the UK this year, but the Government will offer further resources and support as both parties want to "go further".

       " We are looking to change the law to deal with some aspects of the asylum system and also we’re working to see how we can open up economic migration routes for those stuck in conflict," he added.

       Boris Johnson and President Macron have said they will keep all options open, while Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, will speak to her French counterpart later this morning.

       ？？Follow the latest updates below.

       France "has to accept help" from Britain and the rest of the EU, Natalie Elphicke told Sky News.

       "There is a lot of work from the Government with the French government, but the key thing that was turned down is people on the beaches. That has to change."

       Although Ms Elphicke's "compassionate" constituents in Dover wanted to ensure people were looked after where they needed help, they did not want anyone making a "dangerous journey" to Britain.

       "Clearly more needs to be done. The Prime Minister and the French President have been talking overnight and I very much hope we'll see something coming from that about fresh action on the French beaches."

       Rear Admiral Chris Parry, the former chair of the UK Government Marine Management Organisation, said the UK is "between a rock and a hard place" because international law determines border policy.

       "From a British point of view we need to push the border much further forward and say when legally used to come from France to Britain by Eurostar, you used to show your passport on the French side," he said.

       "If people want to cross the Channel legally, you've got to show your credentials on the French side. Don't get in the water, it is dangerous and sooner or later it will catch up with you."

       The Rear Admiral denied the need for military support and emphasised the risks of making the journey for those who are unfamiliar with the sea, while echoing calls by John Vine (see 8.32am) for greater use of technology and intelligence.

       Greater consideration should also to be given to "who comes into this country and who does not", he said, insisting on a separation between asylum seekers and economic migrants.

       Bella Sankey, the director of human rights organisation Detention Action, accused the Government of having "closed its mind" to allowing asylum applications.

       "We operate a border in France that we signed a bilateral treaty about, and that treaty specifically prohibits people from claiming asylum if they reach the UK border," she told Sky News.

       "That's why we see this bottleneck, the desperation and the tragic scenes we saw yesterday. It's because of that anomaly really that you see the situation unfolding in northern France."

       Ms Sankey suggested measures that have been mooted in the last 12 hours would only serve to worsen the current crisis.

       "Everyone in the UK is fed up with seeing dangerous boat crossings... I don't think there's anyone who thinks this can continue, it's very internationally embarrassing. But asylum arrivals have not increased in the last year [and] people increasingly use small boats rather than other means."

       A fifth smuggler has been arrested in relation to the deaths of 27 people while trying to cross the Channel, Gerald Darmanin, the French interior minister, has said.

       Mr Darmanin claimed in a radio interview this morning that migrants are "often attracted" by the British labour market, which allows them to be exploited by smugglers.

       "There were pregnant women, children who died yesterday on that boat, and for a few thousand euros they promise them Eldorado in England,” he said of traffickers.

       "France must stop being the only one to fight against smugglers."

       Intelligence-gathering must be taken to prevent the further loss of life in the Channel, the borders chief demanded as he lamented yesterday's "entirely predictable" tragedy.

       John Vine, the independent chief inspector of the UK Borders Agency, noted it was not the only time people had lost their lives during crossing attempts.

       "You can patrol as long as you like, with as many people as you like, but you need the intelligence to know what’s likely to be done in order to be effective," Mr Vine told Sky News. "We don’t actually know what all this money has actually brought us.

       "The most immediate thing that would make a difference is if there was a bilateral agreement with the French to return migrants immediately back to France, but I think that’s highly unlikely to be agreed."

       Asked about whether the UK adopt measures similar to the European Union's Dublin Agreement, which in principle allowed the UK to return migrants to the EU country they came from, Mr Vine suggested policy mattered less than enforcement and compliance.

       Measures taken by the UK and France to date have not gone far enough, the shadow culture secretary has said.

       Jo Stevens questioned whether the ￡200 million spent on arrangements in the Channel had been effective, calling on the Government to reopen the Dubs scheme to enable safe and legal passage for unaccompanied children.

       "This really must be a wake-up call for the international community to get together, for Britain and France to get together to sit down and hammer out an agreement about how we can stop the trafficking and how we can prevent any further deaths," she said.

       The fact that the problem is "growing not reducing" should lead to a renewed focus on keeping vulnerable safe while clamping down on human trafficking, Ms Stevens told Sky News.

       "This is a serious issue that requires serious leadership from Boris Johnson and Priti Patel to resolve it, and that hasn't happened so far."

       Border patrols should be stepped up immediately and more must be done on the shores of France, the MP for Dover has urged in the wake of yesterday's Channel tragedy.

       "Yesterday’s tragedy cannot be repeated and we need to have urgent and swift action to make sure these boats are not entering the water," Natalie Elphicke, the coastal town's Conservative MP, told the BBC.

       "I would like to see patrols stepped up on the beaches, making sure that the boats don’t get in the water in the first place. That’s the best way to keep people safe, by keeping them on the shores of France where they are already safe."

       Ms Elphicke described footage that emerged yesterday of French police standing by as a boat took to the water as "unacceptable".

       She warned people not to make the "incredibly dangerous" crossing from Calais to Dover, warning that further tragedies could follow if more attempts were made.

       Boris Johnson has demanded that French authorities "step up" efforts to stop migrants illegally crossing the Channel after 27 people died during a crossing attempt yesterday.

       Here is the front page of today's Daily Telegraph.

       Need help?

       Visit our adblocking instructions page.