In the wake of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's public call for France to take back refugees who cross the English Channel successfully, a French government spokesperson has accused of the PM of "double-speak".

The criticism follows in the aftermath of the fatal migrant boat sinking that killed 27 on Wednesday.

The French Interior Ministry announced it would since be withdrawing its invitation to Home Secretary Priti Patel to attend a meeting in Calais on Sunday. 

The decision came after Mr. Johnson released a letter he sent to President Emmanuel Macron setting out his proposal to handle the issue. 

The proposal suggested that a joint UK-French patrol team could be placed along the French beaches to stop boats leaving, which could start as earlier as next week. 

But, the proposal was dismissed by French government spokesman Gabriel Attal, who said it was “clearly not what we need to solve this problem”.

Saying that the PM's letter “doesn’t correspond at all” with discussions Mr Johnson and Mr Macron had when they spoke on Wednesday.

In a further statement from the French Interior Ministry, they said the meeting on Sunday would go ahead with interior minister Gerald Darmanin and his counterparts from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany and representatives of the European Commission.