Labour is considering copying Denmark’s approach to illegal immigration in a bid to cut the number of small boat crossings, according to reports. The northern European country is considered among the toughest on the continent when it comes to restricting refugee entry and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has sent officials over to pick up tips from its success, it is understood. Denmark’s rules on restricting most refugees to a temporary stay in the country and tight legislation on family reunion are among the policies being noted by the UK Government, ahead of an expected shake up of the country’s migration system, to be announced later this month.

The proposals have split parts of the Labour party, however, with some unsure about how mass asylum seeker returns would be possible without replicating Denmark’s offers of substational sums, up to £24,000, in return deals. It follows a difficult few months for the government, with criticism around its handling of the migrant crisis growing alongside small boat crossings and worsened by the return of a migrant weeks after he was deported under the UK-French returns deal.

More than 600 migrants crossed the Channel to Britain on Friday, according to Home Office figures, bringing the total for the year so far to just over 38,000.

Other MPs are worried that following a Danish model will further alienate progressive voters and push the party too far to the right, PA reports.

Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East, went so far as to label Denmark’s method of dealing with growing migrant numbers “far right”.

“I think these are policies of the far right,” she said. “I don’t  think anyone wants to see a Labour government flirting with them.”

Ms Mahmood is reportedly keen to meet Denmark’s immigration minister Rasmus Stoklund, who has likened Danish society to that of “the hobbits in the Lord of the Rings” and suggested that those who don’t contribute positively are not welcome.

“We are a small country,” he said. “We live peacefully and quietly with each other. I guess you could compare us to the hobbits in the Lord of the Rings.

“We expect people who come here to participate and contribute positively, and if they don’t they aren’t welcome.”