Reform UK Proposes Military Force to Return Small Boat Migrants to France

Reform UK says it would use the military to forcibly return small boat migrants to France.

The plans, unveiled on Monday, suggest military personnel would accompany migrants back to ports on the other side of the English Channel, overriding French objections if necessary.

The party claim the proposals would form the "largest military operation" in the Channel since World War Two.

But opponents have branded the plan unworkable, with the Conservatives saying the policy is not credible.

Under Reform UK's plans if it enters government, military-crewed inflatable boats deployed from Navy patrol vessels would be used to "come alongside" boats crossing the Channel.

Border Force officers and police would be tasked with arresting people in the boats, before they would then be returned to France or Belgium by Royal Navy personnel or Marines.

Speaking at a news conference to announce the plans, Reform's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf said the party would seek to disembark them at ports with the agreement of the French government.

But he claimed the party would show "unflinching resolve" to make sure returns happened in any circumstances.

"We would far rather disembark people in port, walk people down a gangway and hand them to the French authorities properly," he added.

"But if the Elysee Palace refuses, make no mistake - His Majesty's Royal Marines will disembark them safely on the very shore they left that morning".

Reform leader Nigel Farage added: "When you think about it, what is the Royal Navy for?

"If the Royal Navy is not there to protect this country from invasion, then, frankly, I can't see what its purpose is."

More than 2,000 migrants have arrived in the UK on small boats since Burnham became prime minister, and 326 people crossed the English Channel on Saturday. Home Office figures show crossings so far this year are down around 43% compared to the same period in 2025.

The number of small boats crossing the Channel have been on a downward trend since it peaked in 2022, Home Office figures show.

Yusuf described the scheme as "humanitarian" and insisted it would be compatible with rules under the European Convention on Human Rights as Article 2 protects the right to life.

International conventions on the sea allow for states to pick people up from boats if they are in danger of being lost but do not allow for them to be taken to another country without that nation's consent.

Yusuf accepted that the UK and France may have "a diplomatic argument" if French authorities were to refuse to accept migrants escorted back to its shores, but insisted they have a "commitment under international law" to process migrants.

But Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh told BBC Radio 4 Today programme this would mean spending "a lot of time arguing with France".

She said the government "absolutely needs to get a grip" on small boat crossings, but said Prime Minister Andy Burnham's team was cracking down on criminal gangs and boosting enforcement.

The prime minister visited Dover at the weekend, where he said the government was "changing the whole approach" to small boats, as the numbers of enforcement officers tackling people-smuggling gangs doubled on both sides of the Channel.

According to the Home Office, the number of National Crime Agency (NCA) officers tackling smuggling gangs facilitating small boat crossings had risen to almost 800 from 376 at the start of 2025.

Reacting to Reform's proposals, retired Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe told the BBC the UK's border force is better suited to managing migrant arrivals than the navy.

Warships designed for tasks including anti-submarine defences "are not best used for ferrying people around", he explained.

"You're better off using an actual ferry," he said.

Meanwhile, Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp insisted that leaving the European Convention on Human Rights should be the government's priority to tackle illegal migration.

"That would enable us to deport every single illegal immigrant within a week of arrival," he told BBC Breakfast. "Either back to their country of origin if possible, or a safe third country, for example Rwanda, if not."

He said this would bring a "deterrent effect" as migrants would no longer cross the channel if they knew they would be deported straight away.

"Reform's policy I am afraid as usual is on the back of a fag packet. By the way I am not averse to taking actions at sea if it's credible but Reform policy isn't credible."