France must control its borders better to stem illegal immigration to the UK, ex-Home Secretary Lord Howard has said, reports the BBC.
It comes amid rising tensions in Calais where migrants have protested over their human rights and the mayor has threatened to block the Channel port.
Lord Howard told the BBC the problem was that France was a member of the Schengen Agreement which eases border controls across much of Europe.
The UK was not part of the agreement so had control over its borders, he added.
Lord Howard of Lympne, who was the MP for Folkestone and Hythe until 2010, said the UK was not a soft touch for migrants.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I've some sympathy for the mayor of Calais and the problems which she's had to face but she's directing her frustration and her anger at the wrong target.
"The general principle which every member state of the European Union has subscribed to is that people fleeing persecution should apply for asylum in the first safe country they reach.
"France used to take this very seriously. When I was home secretary we had an agreement with France under which if people came to the United Kingdom from France and claimed asylum we would return them to France, and France dealt with their claim, and that's what really ought to happen."
The former Conservative Party leader said France had "lost control of its borders" because it was a member of the Schengen Agreement.
Read more of this report from the BBC.