Hard-right Reform UK proposes navy-led operation to stop small migrant boats

The hard-right Reform UK party unveiled plans on Monday for, if it wins power, "the largest military operation" in the Channel "since World War II" to stop migrants crossing on small boats.

Reform said the policy, dubbed "Operation Fortress", would make Britain's border impenetrable.

The proposal – which experts and other political parties promptly rubbished – comes days after tens of thousands of migrants entered Spain's North African exclave of Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco, reigniting Europe's debate over irregular migration.

"What happened in Ceuta over the weekend shows you just how serious this situation is," Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, who leads the anti-immigration Reform, told a press conference unveiling the new policy in a 28-page document.

It details plans to deploy Britain's Royal Navy to return small boats to France, something proposed and swiftly abandoned by the Conservative government in 2020. Reform would need to win the next general election – not due until 2029 – to implement the proposals.

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They come as Farage and Reform – which led national polls for around 18 months but have seen that lead disappear in recent weeks – are embroiled in a series of scandals and official probes into their finances.

In the latest, parliament's standards commissioner said on Monday he had last week opened an investigation into an alleged "failure to declare" a financial interest by the party's deputy leader Richard Tice.

The commissioner was already probing Farage for a separate alleged parliamentary rules breach. But that was suspended when the Reform head resigned as an MP to trigger a by-election next week that he is contesting.

Meanwhile, London police have confirmed launching a probe in February last year over donations to Reform ahead of the 2024 general election, following a referral from the Electoral Commission watchdog.

'Doesn't add up'

However, Farage denied the announcement was a distraction stunt.

"We're very confident that our policy of securely picking people up and safely taking them back to France ... falls within other conventions of international law," he said, predicting Reform would stop the boats "within a fortnight".

The party's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf insisted any French resistance "would be a crime against humanity".

"If the Élysée Palace refuses, make no mistake: His Majesty's Royal Marines will disembark them safely on the very shore they left that morning," he added.

He said the plans would be "the largest military operation in the English Channel since World War II".

But Tom Sharpe, a former Royal Navy commander, told AFP that deploying the navy was "not really where the solution lies".

"There's a lot the navy can do but the idea of ... ferrying people back to France, against the French's will, to me just doesn't add up."

Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who replaced Keir Starmer two weeks ago, vowed on Sunday to be "relentless" in curbing the crossings.

Since taking power in 2024, centre-left Labour has sought to "smash the gangs" that facilitate the journeys, including through increased cooperation with France.

In April, London signed a new three-year deal with Paris over the crossings, agreeing to pay up to EUR766 million ($897 million) to boost French law enforcement.

The British government argues the strategy is working, noting year-on-year migrant small boat arrivals in the first half of 2026 were down more than 42 percent to just over 14,000 people.

However, recent weeks have seen a spike, with a daily record for the year set on July 29 when 752 people arrived.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)