The French government has been told it must step up if small boat crossings are to be stopped as a deal was reached seeing the UK pay almost £500 million to fund a detention centre across the Channel.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the French president Emmanuel Macron have drawn up a new agreement between the two countries following a summit in Paris today.

The once-regular summit is being held for the first time since Theresa May was in No10, with the meeting seen as a new chapter in cross-Channel relations after Brexit.

Mr Sunak also announced that a new detention facility on the French coast has been agreed, as well as 500 new officers patrolling French beaches, increased drones and surveillance methods plus British and French officers operating in a joint-control centre.

But Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover, says the French have so far failed to stop boats setting off on their journey from mainland Europe and is demanding Calais refugee camps are cleared.

Today's summit comes after the Prime Minister visited Dover this week to launch the government's new Illegal Migration Bill, which will automatically deny asylum claims from those who arrive via illegal routes, if it is passed by MPs and survives expected legal challenges.

Speaking this morning, Ms Elphicke said: “A top priority for today’s UK/France summit must be stopping the small boats getting into the water in the first place.

“Time and again the French say they will stop the small boats if we send more money.

“Yet every time they still keep coming - in ever greater numbers. Why should we think it is going to be any different this time?

“A French operation to clear the Calais Jungle ended the last illegal migration crisis - what is needed is a new one to clear the camps, arrest the traffickers and secure the beaches.

“It is as much in the interests of northern France as it is in ours to do this. Decisive action by the French is the quickest and surest way to end the small boat crossings crisis.

“We would not need to be discussing returns at all if the French had done their job and stopped the small boats leaving in the first place.”

However the PM is focused on improving the UK’s relationship with France citing bonds of family and friendship with the country.

“I’ve learned very quickly in this job that there are some things you can control and some things you can’t. And one thing you can’t control is who you get as an international counterpart,” Mr Sunak said during a press conference this afternoon.

Ending his speech by saying how fortunate he is to be serving alongside Mr Macron, the Prime Minister finished: “Merci, mon ami.”

During Liz Truss’s disastrous spell Prime Minister, she said the “jury is out” on whether Mr Macron was a “friend or foe” but her successor has struck a very different tone since taking office in October.

This year the UK will pay France about £64 million for efforts to stop people illegally crossing the Channel in small boats but under the new agreement it is likely to be £159 million a year.

The plans unveiled at the summit today also detail the new technologies that will be used to patrol beaches including drones, aircraft and surveillance tech.

Despite measures agreed in November which saw officials patrolling French beaches rise by a third, more than 3,000 people have arrived via small boats in the UK already this year.

Responding to a question on whether more money will be effective considering the UK has already contributed £300m to French efforts to stop small boats, Mr Sunak said: “Let's just be clear, these are joint efforts rather than just French efforts."

French president Emmanuel Macron said the PM's plan has "the ambition" required to tackle this issue.

He said: “We have to work closely together to try to dismantle these groups and be more efficient."

Asked whether the UK's relationship with France will ever be as strong as it once was, Mr Macron said: "This is my wish but it will depend on our commitment, our willingness."

After the French leader spoke about the need to “fix” issues that had been created by Britain’s exit from the European Union, Mr Sunak who campaigned to leave the EU, said: “I always say, we left the EU but we didn’t leave Europe.

"Emmanuel said previously ‘Brexit didn’t change geography’.

"We want to have a close, co-operative, collaborative relationship with our European partners and allies.

“And of course, that starts with our nearest neighbour, France, and today is the first step on that journey.

“We’re writing a new chapter in this relationship, and I’m really looking forward to everything that we can build on in the coming months and years ahead.”

Commentators have dubbed Mr Sunak and Mr Macron’s cordial relationship as “Le Bromance”.

The two politicians are a similar age and have a background in banking.