Migrants: Military to possess control over activities in the English Channel

LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine): According to a government source, the military forces will take up operations aimed at limiting migrant crossings across the English Channel in the coming weeks.

Following to the source, this move will allow the Home Office to concentrate on the government’s asylum reforms.

The announcement comes after the Times reported that Prime Minister Boris Johnson would grant the Royal Navy command over the vessels of the government in the English Channel.

Last year, three times as many people crossed as in 2020.

On November 24, at least 27 people drowned when their boat sank in the English Channel, the biggest single loss of life since records began in 2014.

The Home Office reported last week that more than 270 individuals crossed in ten tiny boats on Thursday.

They were making  required long-term adjustments, according to a government spokeswoman, since the public had rightly had enough of criminal people smugglers’ brazen contempt of their immigration laws.

They further stated that as part of their Channel protocols, the UK military services already cooperate closely with Border Force on these activities, offering knowledge and assets. It was appropriate that they seek all available solutions in order to prevent illicit crossings and protect marine life.

Tobias Ellwood, the chair of the Defence Select Committee, criticised the measures as “rushed out” and said the government would be questioned about them on Monday by him.

The Conservative MP told Sky News that the plans would be a “massive distraction” for the military in the face of escalating Russian and Chinese threats, adding, “This isn’t what our navy should be doing.”

The inability to prevent a record number of refugees coming on the coast of Kent in smaller boats is a political embarrassment for Prime minister Johnson who had promised his Brexit deal would give the UK back control of its borders.

Putting in charge a rear admiral of operations in the Channel, on the other hand, is unlikely to make a significant difference.

Although the Royal Navy may have improved information on where dinghies and inflatables are expected to make a landing, the vast majority of individuals seeking refuge in Britain are intercepted before they reach the shoreline.

Plans of pushing back  tiny boats into French waters seem to have been considered too perilous, and the much-touted idea of processing migrants “offshore” in some other nation has yet to materialise. Kent is currently expanding its migrant arrival facilities.

Covid and better security at Calais have essentially closed previous points of entry, resulting in an upsurge in asylum seekers making the risky trek over the channel.

The government and refugee organisations agree that the construction of formal safe routes for migrants leaving conflict zones is the best long-term answer.

Joel Nantel

Joel Nantel UK based writer focusing on UK Politics, Economy, IT. He provides analysis and expert opinion on many domestic and international affairs. He Studied BSc. Computing & IT (Software) at The Open University.