A migrant has died and 71 others were saved after a boat deflated in the English Channel.

The French coastguard said patrols off the coast of Gravelines saw people in the water on Wednesday and launched a rescue operation.

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Helped by the UK’s Border Force and RNLI, the coastguard said 59 migrants were brought on board the French ship PSP Cormoran from the deflated boat.

Among them was one person who was unconscious and could not be resuscitated.

Britain’s Border Force Ranger also rescued 13 people from the water.

The Home Office denied there had been a change in policy amid reports the Border Force ship had returned migrants to Calais for the first time.

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The migrants were brought to the French port at the request of local authorities, according to the PA news agency.

The death came just days after four people died in an attempted Channel crossing on 12 July.

Another five people, including a seven-year-old girl, died on a beach in France on 23 April.

The Home Office said crossings continued on Thursday after no arrivals were recorded since Monday, when 427 people landed in seven boats.

A provisional total of 14,759 migrants have arrived via the Channel so far this year.

It comes as Sir Keir Starmer announced in a news conference £84m of new funding for African and Middle Eastern countries in an attempt to tackle the migration crisis “at source”.

Speaking at Blenheim Palace, where leaders met for a European Political Community (EPC) summit, the prime minister said the new money would go towards health and education initiatives, as well as humanitarian support, to address the reasons people flee their homes in the first place.

He said: “We are going to smash the gangs, break their business model and secure our borders.”

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Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, said: “The deaths and reliance on people smugglers are entirely preventable.

“We strongly urge the new government to set up safe asylum routes so people can avoid perilous journeys.”

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