Home Secretary Theresa May has rejected the European Union's argument it should accept its share of those making their way across the sea.

The Tory minister added she did not believe all those arriving should be seen as genuine refugee cases from war-torn Syria.

European Commission boss Jean-Claude Juncker said nations across the continent should 'open the door' to migrants - but Mrs May has responded by saying Britain should only be accepting non-EU nationals on a voluntary basis.

She told the Daily Mail: "Often, the issue is perceived as being people who are refugees from Syria.

"Those coming across the Med – they are coming from countries such as Senegal, Eritrea, Sudan.

"Many will have paid organised crime groups to get them through. It is a different sort of issue from Syrian refugees.

"If we are really going to stop the people putting their lives in danger by crossing the Med, we need to stop them starting their journey in the first place."

The British Government has sent a Royal Navy warship and three helicopters to help save those affected by the disaster in the Mediterranean.

HMS Bulwark spent the weekend in port after a stand-off by the British Government over details involved with helping the rescue effort. 

It wanted assurances Italy would accept all saved migrants rather than Britain having to take them.

The warship finally entered the disaster zone yesterday.

Regarding the rescue operation a Government spokesperson said: "The Prime Minister was clear at last month's European Council that Britain would be playing it's role in tackling the current crisis in the Mediterranean but that our focus would be on saving lives, not offering people asylum in the UK. 

"Discussions between EU partners remain ongoing to ensure close coordination and we are not going to speculate on any operational decisions at this stage."

Around 1,750 people have perished attempting to cross from Africa and the Middle East to Europe since the beginning of the year, while 7,000 people were rescued over the weekend as more unsafe vessels got into trouble in the sea.

Yesterday around 40 people died when a boat carrying 137 people deflated just south of Sicily.

Reports suggest tens of thousands of migrants have made it into Italy and are continuing their journey north by land.

The Italian government has estimated 200,000 migrants will arrive in Europe this year, up from 170,000 in 2014.

The ongoing crisis sparked an emergency summit of EU leaders last month.

It comes as hundreds of migrants have set up camp at Calais seeking to get across the English Channel to Britain.

French riot police have this week used tear gas to stop the refugees storming lorries at the border.

And the French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve has even warned many of them that claiming asylum in France is a better option for them. 

“They should not try to cross illegally into Britain," he said.

"We must make them understand clearly that asylum in France offers the best chance for them.”