REFUGEE charities and unions renewed calls for safe asylum routes as PM Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the small boats crisis in Downing Street today.

A boost in the number of police officers confronting the “mega dinghies” carrying migrants from France to Britain was announced ahead of Mr Macron’s visit.

Sitting in Downing Street’s pillared room, Mr Burnham said that it was “so fitting that it is our nearest neighbour and close friend Emmanuel” who was his first international guest since coming to power.

“It shows what collaboration can achieve, just as we are also showing on Ukraine, on small boats and also on strengthening the UK-EU relationship. So I look forward to discussing those themes further with you today,” the Labour leader said.

Care4Calais’s head of advocacy and public affairs Charlotte Khan said: “What no-one needs are more bilateral meetings, summits and agreements to spend UK taxpayers’ money on failing enforcement initiatives.

“What we need today is the same as we’ve needed from the point in which small boats started crossing the Channel — safe routes.

“The evidence couldn’t be clearer.

“Andy, it’s time Labour ditched Reform’s clothing and charted its own course to a compassionate and effective asylum system. End this nonsense, and get on with delivering safe routes.”

A spokesperson for the Public and Commercial Services union said: “PCS members working across the Home Office and other public services see first-hand the pressures created when governments prioritise headline-grabbing enforcement measures over properly resourced public services.

“We need solutions that are sustainable, humane and actually work, not simply ever more policing.”

Freedom from Torture’s Sile Reynolds added: “The number of people crossing the Channel is dropping, but as smugglers adapt, crossings are only becoming more dangerous.

“At the most basic level, the government is failing to protect the lives of vulnerable people seeking safety.

“UK taxpayers’ money is being spent bolstering police activity in northern France despite accounts of brutal violence against refugees.

“The government should instead invest in rebuilding the UK’s asylum system so that it makes the right decision first time and without delay, clear the appeals backlog and make sure survivors of torture and other refugees can recover and rebuild their lives.”