Theresa May has refused to bow to a personal demand from Francois Hollande to help take in 1,500 child migrants from Calais.

In an escalation of tensions between the two nations over the “Jungle” camp, the French President made clear in a telephone call to Mrs May his displeasure with Britain’s efforts to help those affected.

Mr Hollande went public with details of the call on Saturday as he sought to hold off political pressure from his rivals over his handling of the migrant crisis.

He told a crowd at a reception centre in western France that Mrs May had been told to make sure British officials would take in more child refugees.