REFORM has vowed to use the Navy to stop small boats and make British borders “impenetrable” – as Channel crossings continue to spiral.
Some 2,000 migrants have arrived since Andy Burnham entered No10, despite the new PM’s pledge to crack down on the crisis.
Reform has vowed to use the Navy to stop small boats and make British borders ‘impenetrable’ Credit: Alamy
Some 2,000 migrants have arrived since Andy Burnham entered No10 Credit: AP
More than 13,007 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, with gormless French cops watching on as loaded dinghies leave their shores.
The heatwave has triggered a stampede and poses a fresh challenge to Mr Burnham, who has name-checked immigration as a top public priority.
Sign up for The Jattvibe newsletter
Thank you!
Border Force officials are said to be growing tired of hapless officers across the Channel – who charge us £8,000 for every migrant stopped.
But Reform UK‘s Zia Yusuf has pledged to make Britain “impenetrable” by using the military to intercept small boats and return them to France.
BORDER FARCE
Burnham vows to be ‘relentless’ on small boats after 2k migrants cross
ON WAY TO UK
Migrants poised to make beeline for Britain after storming Spanish enclave
The provisional total for migrant crossings this year is roughly 14,526 Credit: The Times
Mr Yusuf visited Spanish enclave Ceuta, which saw droves of migrants arrive last week Credit: x/ziayusuf
The party’s home affairs spokesman unveiled plans for “Operation Fortress” during an emergency visit to Spanish enclave Ceuta.
Some 60,000 migrants descended upon the city – which has a population of 84,000 – from Morocco in chaotic scenes last week.
In response, the Spanish government deployed elite soldiers as they sent the migrants to detention centres or escorted them back to Morocco.
And Mr Yusuf has vowed to follow a similar approach, by launching the “largest military operation in the Channel since World War Two”.
Posting on X, he said: “Britain is being invaded…. Tory and Labour governments responded with a free ferry service and free hotels.
“Reform UK will respond by launching the largest military operation in the English Channel since World War Two.
“Nigel Farage will order His Majesty’s Royal Navy to ensure that not a single unauthorised vessel crossing the English Channel makes it to the shores of the United Kingdom.
“Those who attempt it will be intercepted by our Armed Forces and returned to France.”
The operation would see emergency legislation passed to combine units from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, RAF and British Army.
Migrants on detained boats would be offered food and drink, as well as being medically assessed before returning to France on naval vessels.
Last Wednesday marked the busiest day for crossings this year, with 752 migrants arriving – taking the provisional total for the year up to 14,526.
Mr Burnham has vowed to bring back control of Britain’s borders but offered no specific plan during a visit to Dover yesterday.
We revealed today how police in Calais have halted fewer illegals this year but are still set to rake in £1billion from border agreements.
Robert Bates, at the Centre for Migration Control, told The Jattvibe: “The French are laughing at us.
“It is clear they have no real interest in ending the Channel crisis.
“The French police cannot be relied on, refusing to stop boats in shallow water and standing by as hundreds depart from the shore.
“Those migrants that are stopped from crossing simply try again at a later date.”
And Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has been forced to rewrite the UK’s “one in, one out” policy with France – as migrants continue to flood in.
Since the treaty came into effect last August, 921 small boat migrants have been returned to France – just 3.5 per cent of the total number.
Britain has taken 896 asylum seekers from France in the same period.
Ms Mahmood told The Telegraph it was “trickier” to tackle crossings, suggesting that Reform’s Navy approach would not work for Britain.
She said: “I think what we’ve seen in Ceuta is unique to those particular circumstances. Morocco and Spain share a land border.
“That is different to a people-smuggling trade that crosses the whole of the Channel – so you’re in both French waters and then English waters.
“That makes the work that we do different and trickier in many ways.”
