The UK government blamed months of good weather for a surge in migrants arriving via small boat crossings from France, as it seeks to take the political sting out of record arrivals this year.

Two men have been jailed for eight months for piloting a boat across the Channel, which saw two people die in France. Afghan nationals Shah Salim Sajjadi, 38, and Safiollah Mohammadi, 25, have been arrested after the vessel arrived in UK waters on May 21,

Yvette Cooper is set to face questions from MPs after record numbers of migrants crossed the Channel over the weekend. Nearly 1,200 made the crossing illegally on Saturday, the highest number of people so far this year. Defence Secretary John Healey later admitted that Britain had “lost control of its borders”.