Mme Guigou suggested a network of refugee camps

A Home Office spokeswoman confirmed that Mr Blunkett and Mme Guigou would have a "private meeting" in London on Monday afternoon.

It was a "routine" visit and Mme Guigou would be meeting other ministers, including Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

However, a spokesman for Mr Blunkett played down the significance of the discussions saying that there was no fixed agenda and that the Sangatte refugee camp was not the primary purpose of the meeting.

He denied that Mme Guigou had been "summoned" for the meeting as reported in a Sunday newspaper.

Mr Blunkett will hold talks with Mme Guigou

Last autumn, Mme Guigou heightened Anglo-French tensions over illegal immigration by suggesting the establishment of a network of camps for would-be refugees near the Channel Tunnel.

She said then: "There will be several shelters. We must be able to ensure decent housing conditions for these people who are in our territory."

But government sources in London suggested Mme Guigou's views did not coincide with those of France's Interior Minister Daniel Vaillant nor Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who would block her plans.