Britain will receive over a thousand refugees from France as part of the deal to close the Sangatte refugee camp.

The news was announced as an agreement was reached to close the Sangatte refugee camp by the end of this month.

At a joint news conference, David Blunkett and his opposite number, Nicolas Sarkosy, said that a deal had been struck on the closure of the controversial Red Cross camp.

"We are not only proposing the closure of the Sangatte centre but we are also proposing to put in place joint measures at the French ports in terms of immigration controls, new technology and surveillance so that we can prevent clandestine using ports as a method of entry," said Blunkett.

The home secretary described the deal as a "seismic shift" between France and Britain on the issue of asylum.

He announced that the camp, which had become a magnet for refugees, would be closing four months earlier than expected.

"This will make the enormous difference to balance asylum policy," he said.

"We have made the most enormous progress over the last six months. Less than a year ago no-one thought this agreement was possible," said Blunkett.

But it has emerged that Britain will take 1000 Iraqi Kurds and 200 Afghan refugees on work permits in order to facilitate the camp's closure.

Blunkett stressed that it was only right that Britain took its "fair share" of those being held in the camp.

France said that the UK's decision amounted to a "significant contribution" towards the closure of the centre.

The Tories, however, said the closure would have little effect given the government's failure to halt the flow of asylum seekers.

"Sangatte is a symptom not a cause of the growing asylum disaster, and its closure, though welcome, will have little affect on the overall problem," said Oliver Letwin.

"According to the government's own figures, it will take 46 years to clear the current backlog of applications, with or without Sangatte.

"What we need are one-stop shop accommodation centres which can deal with applications quickly and efficiently.

"We also need a new treaty with France, like the one in force until 1997, to ensure that anyone who crosses the Channel is sent back within 24 hours, so deterring people from using northern France as a staging post for entry to the UK in the first place."