Channel migrants: Committee report condemns government 'squabbling'

Border Force has been in charge of handling Channel crossings, but the Navy is due to take over

"Squabbling" between government departments "undermines public confidence", a damning report on Naval intervention in migrant crossings said.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to work with the Home Office in the Channel under Operation Isotrope.

However, the Defence Committee said it would take "scarce resources" from the MoD, which is already "overstretched".

A government spokeswoman said no ships used would have "any possible role" in a UK response to the war in Ukraine.

'Inadequate'

Vice-Chair of the committee John Spellar said: "The policy announcement left much to be desired.

"Squabbling between the Great Offices of State severely undermines public confidence in government."

The report stated the MoD budget is "already inadequate" and called on the government to declare which existing Royal Navy commitments should be "sacrificed" to divert resources to Operation Isotrope.

Mr Spellar said the government had been "unwilling" to answer such questions from the committee.

So far this year more than 1,400 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats

The report found an "overall lack of clarity from the government" on the operation, and questioned whether announcing the policy before agreeing the detail was a move "borne of desperation".

"Calling in the Navy is not a quick fix to a sticky issue", Mr Spellar said.

Reputationally, the MoD has "little to gain and much to lose" in its involvement with Operation Isotrope, he added.

The committee also agreed the operation could not be "open-ended" and the government should announce a definitive end date and handover back to the Border Force.

'Taxi service'

The report comes after a former naval officer warned MPs that Navy patrols would fuel Channel crossings.

Those concerns were reiterated in the report, which stated the Navy is legally unable to turn boats around, and would become a "taxi service" for migrants crossing the Channel.

A government spokeswoman said: "We have been exploring every avenue to prevent further crossings and the Home Office and Ministry of Defence continue to collaborate on a more visible role for the Armed Forces in the Channel.

"None of the Royal Navy ships earmarked for deployment in the Channel have any role, or even possible role, in the UK's response to Russian aggression in the Ukraine."

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