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It comes after Home Secretary Priti Patel was asked by Redcar MP Jacob Young what was being done to deter the migrant crisis after government figures show that 586 attempted to cross the channel this month. The Home Secretary also hinted during an interview on Wednesday morning that ministers were looking at trying to change immigration legislation to tackle the crisis.

She told LBC yesterday: “We will be doing much more to enforce this whole principle of if you come from a safe country, you will be going back to that safe country.

“You will not be able to claim asylum in this country.”

Writing on Twitter on Thursday, Jacob Young, said: “Great to talk to the Home Secretary @pritipatel on Zoom today.

“I raised the issue of illegal crossings in the English Channel and she was crystal clear that the current situation is unacceptable and that she is doing all she can to stop the boats.

“The Home Office are using helicopters and drones to detect crossings, and they’re working with the French authorities to arrest and detain the individuals arranging these unsafe and illegal trips.”

Home Office data also shows that the number of migrants who have been intercepted by Border Force in the English Channel and brought to Dover during the coronavirus lockdown reached at least 1,000.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said on Twitter that he was out in the Channel on Wednesday morning and he claims to have seen “a small inflatable in trouble with over 20 on board”.

However, Ms Patel’s actions and comments have come under fire from refugee charities.

READ MORE: Ten boats with record 150 migrants intercepted in English Channel

Bridget Chapman, from Kent Refugee Action Network, said: “British people have helped refugees settle in the UK for centuries, from the French protestant refugees arriving in Dover in the 17th Century to the Kindertransport in the Second World War, to people fleeing Uganda in the 1970s.

“We should be proud of our ability to give people the chance to restart their lives and thrive.

“These people are fleeing conflict and persecution and want to seek asylum, but there are very few safe and legal ways for them to do this.

“We would encourage the Government to look at how we develop these rather than undertaking the extremely difficult – and possibly impossible – task of attempting to circumnavigate international law.”

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Meanwhile, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that the number of people moving to the UK long term from non-EU countries has hit a new record high.

Last year, immigration from non-EU countries rose to 404,000, the highest it has ever been since records began in 1975 when it was 93,000.

Net migration from outside the EU, the balance between the number of people entering and leaving the country, is also at its highest level (282,000) since citizenship information was first collected in 1975 (40,000).

Both figures have continued to rise since 2013.

Meanwhile, EU net migration fell to 49,000, down from 75,000 recorded a year earlier and after hitting peaks of more than 200,000 in 2015.

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