She has appointed a former royal marine as her clandestine Channel threat commander in a bid to clamp down on the illegal crossings.

Royal navy warships could be sent to block the migrant crossings, despite warnings many could drown.

Ms Patel's renewed efforts to prevent the dangerous crossings comes after more than 677 people made it to the UK in a surge of crossings between Thursday and Sunday.

More than 4,000 migrants have crossed the Dover Strait this year.

Speaking to the BBC this morning, Care Minister Helen Whately defended the Government's plans to involve the Navy in preventing the crossings.

She said: "We need to bring this to an end.

"The Home Secretary's determined that this will not be a viable route to the UK and my colleague, Home Office Minister Chris Philp, is going to be in Paris later this week to talk directly with the French government about working together to stop this transit."

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UK migrant crisis: Border Force intercepts 20 migrants on flimsy dinghy off Dover coast - Express