Reform UK has proposed using the navy to stop small boat crossings. Is their plan feasible?
Nigel Farage said his party would send the military to the Channel to intercept and return dinghies carrying migrants to FranceThe Reform leader, Nigel Farage, whose summer has bee
By The Guardian
Reform UK has set out a plan to use the Royal Navy to intercept small boats crossing the Channel and return people to France or Belgium if it wins power at the next general election.
The party has called the proposal “Operation Fortress” and described it as the largest military operation in the English Channel since the Second World War.
According to reports of the announcement, Nigel Farage said a Reform government would order the Royal Navy to stop unauthorised vessels reaching the UK, while home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf said the plan would involve a joint military command using the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, RAF and British Army.
Reform says people intercepted at sea would be given food, water and a medical assessment before being escorted back across the Channel.
The plan has already drawn criticism from military experts and opposition figures, who question whether it would be legal, practical or effective.
Former Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe said warships are not suited to ferrying people back to France and warned that the French authorities would have to agree before any return could happen.
Other commentators cited by news reports said the Navy is already stretched and that international maritime law, French consent and the availability of suitable vessels would all be major obstacles.
The question now is whether Reform’s proposal can be carried out in practice, or whether it remains a policy statement without the agreement and resources needed to make it work.