UK interior minister Braverman: We have to end small boat crossings

British interior minister Suella Braverman said it was vital to stop small boats of migrants attempting to cross the Channel between England and France, expressing profound sadness over the death of at least four migrants in an incident earlier on Wednesday.

"I know that everyone in this House and across the country will join me in expressing our profound sadness and deepest sympathies for everyone affected by this terrible event," she said in a statement to parliament.

"It is vital, literally vital, that we end the illegal crossings in the Channel."