Germany's immigration row is threatening to tear apart Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government, with a key member of the government threatening to quit over the dispute.

Horst Seehofer, Germany's interior minister, has previously said police should turn away migrants at the borders of Bavaria, a state in south-east Germany, if they have sought asylum elsewhere, in contrast to the EU-wide deal Ms Merkel is pushing.

Mr Seehofer, who heads Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU), will now take part in crisis talks with Ms Merkel today in an attempt to resolve the issue.

The interior minister's offer to resign from his post followed the passing of a resolution by Ms Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party which supported her position on immigration.

He said the meeting to discuss the resolution and an EU-wide deal on migration was a "conversation with no effect".

Mr Seehofer added that he agreed to Monday's final crisis talks as a "concession" to the coalition and the country.

Ms Merkel's coalition government relies on the support of the CSU to maintain power, meaning that if Mr Seehofer and his support leave the coalition there could be dire consequences for the German government.

The iron Frau: Angela Merkel Show all 11 1 /11 The iron Frau: Angela Merkel The iron Frau: Angela Merkel Comeback queen: Angela Merkel at the Bellevue Palace, Berlin in 2007 EPA / WOLFGANG KUMM The iron Frau: Angela Merkel At home in Germany, the press are comparing Merkel to Margaret Thatcher (pictured in 1981), for her tough-talking stance on the Greek debt crisis GETTY IMAGES / REUTERS The iron Frau: Angela Merkel What Cold War? With Vladimir Putin and George W Bush in 2007 at a G8 summit in Germany. She's known to be an entertaining mimic; was she doing her 'Gordon Brown' for them? AFP The iron Frau: Angela Merkel The famous clip that showed George W Bush squeezing her shoulder The iron Frau: Angela Merkel Whispering with Silvio Berlusconi REUTERS The iron Frau: Angela Merkel Make 'em laugh: with Nicolas Sarkozy AFP The iron Frau: Angela Merkel Crowd-pleaser: Merkel's supporters at a 2009 election rally AFP / GETTY IMAGES The iron Frau: Angela Merkel Immortalised in doll form The iron Frau: Angela Merkel With other world leaders at last year's G20 summit AP The iron Frau: Angela Merkel With her husband Joachim Sauer EPA The iron Frau: Angela Merkel Campaigning in 1990 REUTERS

The potential fracture in German politics comes as the country's far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), are growing in power, largely on the back of their anti-immigration stance.

Last year the AfD won 94 seats, making it the first time the party had ever sat in the German parliament.

The party won these gains by attacking Ms Merkel's decision to allow more than a million asylum seekers into Germany following the mass exodus of refugees from the Syrian War.

Ms Merkel managed to secure a deal with Greece and Spain which stipulated that the countries must take back asylum seekers stopped at the Austria-Bavaria border that can be proven to have entered their countries first.