London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

Channel migrants: MPs criticise use of navy to tackle English Channel crossings

Channel migrants: MPs criticise use of navy to tackle English Channel crossings

MPs have criticised plans for the armed forces to take over English Channel operations to limit migration, with one describing them as a "dog's dinner".

Backbenchers said detail is lacking, while adding it could incentivise people traffickers, helping the Border Force to be used as a "taxi service".

Defence minister James Heappey said the navy would not be intercepting boats.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is due to take over command of the operation in the Channel at the end of the month.

Mr Heappey, speaking in the House of Commons, said naval ships would not push back small boats in the Channel, or use sonic weapons - devices that deter people with loud noise - against them.

He did not rule out Border Force - the civilian law enforcement agency from which the MoD will be taking over - using the weapons.

But that led to some backbenchers asking exactly what the Royal Navy would be doing, saying their presence would be an incentive rather than the deterrent intended.

Conservative former minister Sir Edward Leigh asked what the point was of "appointing a Royal Naval admiral to help Border Force to be a more efficient taxi service".

He said people would feel they would be picked up and "taken safely to the UK" - calling it "an embarrassment".

Mr Heappey said military involvement is part of a wider plan from the government which will be announced in coming weeks.

The navy will have control "from a command and control perspective" rather than "from an interdiction or interception perspective", he said.

He had been asked for a statement on the move by Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood after it was confirmed by Home Secretary Priti Patel on Monday.

Mr Ellwood, who chairs the defence committee, said: "This tactic may on the face of it look popular, with 28,000 migrants now crossing every year - send in the navy to sort it out - but it is not the strategy that will solve the movement of migrants."

He later announced the committee would hold a session next week to find out more about how the military will be used in the Channel, saying the decision for the Royal Navy to take over "has taken Parliament - and it seems the MoD - by surprise".

Mr Ellwood said it was clear "the mission is still in the planning phase".


Some MPs claimed the announcement on the armed forces' involvement was one of a series of policies dubbed "operation red meat", aimed at distracting from the government's political problems amid allegations about parties held during lockdown.

Shadow defence secretary John Healey said "the military are there to protect the nation, not to protect Tory ministers".

Philip Hollobone, Conservative MP, said instead of red meat it was "operation dog's dinner" as no details have been given.

The defence minister said more information would be revealed later this month by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Mr Hollobone also said he would support the move if its mission statement was to reduce the level of illegal people trafficking.

"But the mission statement as far as I understand it is to lower the number of people landing on their own terms on UK beaches," he said.

"So what the minister has effectively announced with the deployment of Royal Navy vessels is asylum seekers only need to get halfway across the Channel before being intercepted by the Royal Navy.

"This is going to incentivise people traffickers, they'll see the Royal Navy ship on the horizon and they'll say 'point your dinghy in that direction, you only need to get halfway' and the Royal Navy will pick them up."

Instead, he said the Royal Navy had to intercept asylum seekers and return them to France. Mr Heappey said that would be impossible without French permission however, which has not been given.

He added that the MoD had to make sure no one could arrive in the UK without being intercepted, either at sea or as they land.

It is "perfectly appropriate" to use armed forces "to ensure our borders are robust", said the defence minister, who added: "Nobody's pretending that the presence of a rear admiral and a few extra Royal Navy ships solves this as an issue."

Ms Patel said on Monday that the MoD had been commissioned as a "crucial operational partner to protect our Channel against illegal migration".

Rear Admiral Mike Utley, the commander of the UK strike force, has been appointed to co-ordinate the plans.

The number of people who made the crossing last year was treble that of 2020. Over the past two weeks, 773 people have reached the UK by boat - which is more than the total for the first two months of last year.

On 24 November at least 27 people died after their boat sank, in the largest single loss of life in the Channel since records began in 2014.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×