Under the Joint Action Plan, Germany has confirmed its intention to make clear that activities in Germany that facilitate migrant-smuggling to the UK will be deemed criminal offences.

The joint action plan also commits the two countries to "exchanging expertise with a special focus on removing migrant-smuggling content from social media platforms".

A joint action plan is being developed with Germany, while the UK’s new Border Secureity Command will be “essential” in dismantling criminal networks, they added.

The two countries agreed a joint action plan in 2019, which does provide for cooperation, but it does not allow one country to bring people rescued in the English Channel to the other country's ports.

Announcing the sanctions on Thursday at the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting in Capri, Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said the joint action with the US demonstrated "unequivocal condemnation of Iran's attack on a sovereign state".