A Home Office minister has said relations between France and the UK are “strong” despite disagreements on how to deal with migrants crossing the English Channel.

Damian Hinds defended a letter Boris Johnson sent to French President Emmanuel Macron after 27 people died near Calais on Wednesday while trying to reach the UK.

The British prime minister wrote that migrants who reach the UK needed to be “returned swiftly” to France and set out a five-point plan for doing so.

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He posted pictures of the letter on Twitter, prompting condemnation from French interior minister Gerald Darmanin, who told Home Secretary Priti Patel she was “no longer welcome” at Sunday’s European meeting on migrant issues.

The French government called the correspondence “unacceptable” and “contrary” to discussions between Mr Johnson and Mr Macron on Wednesday, adding that sharing it on social media showed the UK prime minister was “not serious”.

Mr Hinds disagreed, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The tone of the letter is exceptionally supportive and collaborative.

“It absolutely acknowledges everything the French government and authorities have been doing, that it’s a shared challenge, but that now, particularly prompted by this awful tragedy, we have to go further, we have to deepen our partnership, we have to broaden what we do, we have to draw up new creative solutions.”

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Asked about Mr Johnson’s proposal for joint UK-French patrols by border officials along French beaches to stop boats leaving, he insisted “nobody is proposing breaching sovereignty”.

He acknowledged the problems in policing the French coastline, but added: “There is more that can be done and clearly we can’t just say it’s difficult because it’s hundreds of miles of coastline, we have to do what’s necessary to save human life.”

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“British and French officials have been working together throughout,” said Mr Hinds, “in fact, we’ve been working together for years, on these really important issues. The partnership is strong.”

A No 10 spokesman said Home Office officials had travelled to France for talks on Friday as planned, despite the cancellation of Ms Patel’s meeting.

Talks on Sunday will go ahead with representatives from the European Commission, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and France.

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