Britain and France are engaged in a war of words over the recent migrant tragedy on the English Channel in which 27 people lost their lives

Ministers from both nations have blamed the other side for the incident, with dozens of people drowned when their inflatable vessel heading to the UK capsized.

The incident is one of the biggest tragedies to occur on the English Channel in recent years.

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister have both expressed horror at the incident, with Macron saying his government will not allow the Channel to become a graveyard for migrants.

Both leaders have also agreed to increase joint efforts to discourage such migrant crossings, while also accusing one another of not doing enough.

But Macron expressed further fury in a joint phone call on Wednesday night, with the French president urging Johnson to stop politicising the crisis.

Meanwhile, an M-P for Dover in England – where many migrants arrive from France – says the deaths were “entirely foreseeable”.

The M-P says “people are safe in France, and the best way to keep people safe is to keep them on shore, not in the hands of people smugglers in the middle of the Channel”.