ONDON: Britain’s right-wing Reform UK party announced on Monday that, if elected, it would halt all asylum seekers crossing the Channel by launching what it termed the largest military operation in the waterway since World War Two. The policy announcement comes as the party grapples with sliding national opinion polls and mounting scrutiny over its funding and donations to senior figures.
Unveiling the tougher immigration strategy—dubbed “Operation Fortress”—Reform leader Nigel Farage stated that asylum seekers arriving in small boats would be intercepted and returned directly to France. Pointing to migration pressures in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, Farage told a press conference, “Under a Reform government, within a fortnight, there would be no more boats.”
However, the proposals faced immediate skepticism from political opponents and defense experts. Andrew Fox, a former paratrooper and senior associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, dismissed the plan, noting it “sounds magnificent, provided you know nothing about ships, sailors, France or the law.” Fox emphasized that Britain cannot legally move warships into French territorial waters, seize vessels, or disembark passengers in Calais without explicit French cooperation.
The Labour Party accused Reform of repackaging stale immigration policies merely to deflect attention from its financial controversies. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who assumed office two weeks ago, promised “relentless” action to tackle the migrant crisis after recent figures revealed that over 2,000 people had arrived in Britain since his leadership began.
