The armed forces are set to take charge of operations aimed at limiting migrant crossings in the English Channel, as the number of people making the journey last year trebled that of 2020. Home Secretary Priti Patel announced that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had been commissioned as a 'crucial operational partner to protect our Channel against illegal migration'.
Rear Admiral Mike Utley, commander of the UK strike force, has been appointed to co-ordinate the plans. However, Defence Select Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood criticised the move as 'rushed' and a 'massive distraction' for the military, given growing threats from Russia and China. 'This isn't what our navy should be doing,' he told Sky News.
Figures compiled by the BBC show at least 28,431 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats in 2021, up from 8,417 the previous year. On 24 November, at least 27 people died after their boat sank, the largest single loss of life in the Channel since records began in 2014. On Saturday alone, 197 people were intercepted or rescued, while French authorities stopped 95 others.
MoD sources told the BBC that discussions about military involvement had been ongoing for weeks, but no decisions had been made on how the Royal Navy would be involved. There was no indication that it would involve pushing migrant boats back to France, despite Ms Patel suggesting in the House of Commons that this was 'absolutely the policy of this government'. A source said there was 'trepidation' within the MoD about getting involved in such a complex issue.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the government had failed to do the serious and practical work with France needed to stop lives being lost and criminal gangs profiting from crossings. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi defended the move, saying it would help avoid a situation where Border Force and other vessels were co-ordinated separately.
