An extra 200 Border Force officers are to be recruited to work at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel in a major step towards trying to boost security after Brexit.

Home secretary Amber Rudd said the government had plans to recruit 1,000 extra officers, 200 of which would be deployed in Kent.

But unions said the additional numbers did not make up for several hundred jobs that were lost from the Border Force in 2017.

Mrs Rudd made the announcement during an appearance for MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee yesterday.

It came as it emerged the UK's preparations for Brexit would cost more than £450million over two years.

She told MPs: “I can announce today that we are launching a national advertising campaign for another thousand Border Force staff in order to improve the quality of our border and prepare specifically for Brexit.

“We have done a careful analysis. If we need more we will make that decision as we go forward.”

Unions were sceptical about the numbers, suggesting they were not additional officers but would simply replace individuals who had left.

But the investment in new offices was welcome by the Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke.

He said: “It’s great that the government has listened to our concerns and is investing in more officers at the Dover frontline to keep our border secure.”

It will bring to 1,300 the number of extra people drafted in after 300 were announced last October.

However, there was a degree of confusion about how many of these additional Border Force officers would be new or would simply be filling vacancies.