David Blunkett is seeking a bilateral agreement with the new French government to tackle cross-Channel illegal immigration.

During a visit to Dover on Monday, the home secretary claimed progress had been made in solving the problem but said stemming the flow of asylum seekers would take concerted action across the EU.

"Effective border controls are essential to make sure that only those who have a right to be here are allowed in," he said.

"We are pushing this forward alongside ongoing discussions with the new French government to agree a comprehensive approach to deal with the migratory pressure at our common border. I look forward to meeting shortly with the new French minister of the interior to agree a way forward."

Blunkett is talking up the issue ahead of the heads of government EU council meeting in Seville on Friday.

"Of course illegal immigration is not just a UK problem. Asylum is a Europe-wide issue which we need to address at a European level.

"We remain committed to offering sanctuary to those genuinely fleeing persecution. But we do need to have in place effective controls to help build trust and confidence in our immigration and asylum system," he said.

Blunkett also gave a warm welcome to the French election result which saw victory for the centre right.

The home secretary said the result, which gives President Jacques Chirac more power than any leader since de Gaulle, was a positive development and that "we can do business".

He said the result would lead to a new rapprochement over the problem of immigration.

"I welcome the new government's determination to tackle the situation in northern France," Blunkett said.

"We can do business with this government, and I have invited the new interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, to London next week to start finding solutions to the problems of illegal immigration facing both our countries."

His comments came on the same day as a MORI poll revealed British people hugely over-estimate the number of asylum seekers in the UK.The public believes the UK takes nearly a quarter of the world's asylum seekers, when the reality is less than two per cent.

Chief executive of the Refugee Council, Nick Hardwick, said: "Clearly, a lot of work still needs to be done to raise awareness among children about who refugees are and why they flee."