France is heading for a showdown with Britain over the Channel migrant crisis unless the UK agrees to open “legal admission channels” for those seeking to reach its shores, its hardline interior minister has warned.

Bruno Retailleau also called for a new “comprehensive” Europe-wide deal with Britain on migration in which the UK accepted legal routes for migrants in exchange for the “return” of illegal immigrants from Britain to the EU. 

He pledged to engage in an “arm wrestle” with the EU on the issue if necessary to obtain it.

During a visit to Calais, northern France, on Friday, he said: “The relationship between France and the United Kingdom can no longer be reduced to sub-contracting out to France” security on the Channel border.

The UK last year pledged £478 million to help the French police its borders over a three-year period.