France has withdrawn an invitation to the British interior minister to talks on tackling migrant trafficking after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson published a list of suggestions addressed to his counterparts in France.

In the letter, which he posted on Twitter, Johnson called on Paris to allow joint patrols with British border officers on French territory and to take back any people who traveled across the Channel illegally. Both issues are sensitive to France, which does not consider itself primarily responsible for the situation that has seen tens thousands of people attempting the dangerous crossing. 

A meeting will take place between representatives of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the European Commission on Sunday but UK Home Secretary Priti Patel is not longer welcome, according to AFP.

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The issue has gained prominence following the deaths of 27 people in a single incident this week when their inflatable boat sank. They were trying to follow more than 25,000 others, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, who have traveled through Europe and onwards to the UK in an attempt to start a new life.

The British government says most are economic migrants who are not entitled to stay but it has been unable to send them back to France because it did not renew such an arrangement when it left the European Union. Humanitarian organizations contend that the majority of the arrivals are genuinely fleeing danger in their home countries.

After the deaths on Wednesday, Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to work together to prevent smugglers from profiting from the dangerous route. However, agreement over how to do this has proved hard to come by.