The Prime Minister is among world leaders gathering in the city days after the blast, the discovery of an unexploded pressure-cooker device a few streets away and a suspicious object in the neighbouring state of New Jersey.
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According to the Daily Telegraph, May will this week push for a “better distinction between refugees and economic migrants” in a bid to prevent people putting their lives “in the hands of criminal gangs”.
Actor Douglas Booth said he went to Lesbos to visit refugees and was “completely moved”, saying he was lucky enough to be born into a safe country and that was the only difference between him and them.
She added: “How many more children have to die before we stand up to our responsibilities and get them over here safely and legally?”
Mrs May will argue that refugees should seek asylum in the first safe country they arrive in because the current trend of onward movement exposes them to increased danger and benefits criminal gangs.
Ms Cooper also called on the Government to ensure global pledges made at the London Supporting Syria conference are met by Christmas, speed up family reunion for lone children, and introduce child protection measures and “proper sanctuary” for child refugees in Calais.
“We are not on track to be meeting that commitment at the moment and of course we need to be doing more”.
Organisers said they hope the prime minister will “lead an appropriate humanitarian response” to the crisis at a United Nations refugee summit next week.
She added: “But we can not simply focus on treating the symptoms of this crisis, we need to address its root causes too”.
Mrs May will be accompanied to the summit by Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, and Priti Patel, the International Development Secretary.
Last September former Prime Minister David Cameron announced that over five years Britain would accept a total of 20,000 refugees sheltering from Syria’s civil war in neighbouring countries such as Jordan and Lebanon.
He said: “These proposals indicate that the Prime Minister is intent on attempting to reinforce the untenable status quo; blocking off people’s escape routes and leaving poor countries looking after almost nine out of 10 of the world’s refugees”.
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The Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford MP, who chairs Labour’s refugee taskforce, suggested the Government should bring forward its target to help 20,000 refugees by two years to 2018 and then help more.
