Reform UK’s proposal to use the Royal Navy to stop small boats crossing the English Channel "lacks quite a lot of substance", a former Royal Navy officer has said.
Retired Royal Navy Commander Tom Sharpe said military warships would be far better used countering genuine military threats than "ferrying people around".
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "A billion-pound warship that's configured for anti-air warfare or anti-submarine warfare, which are both threats to the UK, is not best used ferrying people around. You're better off using an actual ferry."
Mr Sharpe said one of the biggest challenges would be securing agreement from French authorities to allow the Royal Navy to return people to French shores.
Responding, Reform’s Home Affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf said that if France refused to accept people returned by the Royal Navy, an argument could follow.
He added that preventing people from disembarking would be a “crime against humanity”.
However, Mr Yusuf did not explain why refusing people permission to disembark in France would be different from preventing them from doing so in the UK.
The French Government has attacked Reform UK's plan to use the Royal Navy to take small boat migrants back to France, labelling this as a “violation of French sovereignty as well as a violation of maritime law and international law".
In response, Reform UK said: "We will always stand up for British interests and protect our people, whether Emmanuel Macron likes it or not. Humanitarian missions do not violate maritime or international law".
Meanwhile, Reform UK’s political opponents have claimed the plans are more about distracting from party leader Nigel Farage’s financial scandals than tackling the small boats issue.
Under what Reform UK has called "Operation Fortress", the Royal Navy would be used to transport migrants attempting to cross the English Channel to France or Belgium.
The party described the scheme as a humanitarian response, claiming it would save lives, help the French stop the boats and reduce costs.
"We are very confident that our policy of securely picking people up and safely taking them back to France – we are entirely confident that that falls within other conventions of international law," Mr Farage said at a press conference.
Mr 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."
Reform said it would establish a joint military command involving the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, RAF and British Army, alongside a surveillance operation.
Mr Sharpe went on to say the proposal bore a striking resemblance to a plan put forward by the Conservatives while they were in government four years ago.
During that period, small boat crossings nearly doubled, the Royal Navy was accused of operating a "taxi service", and the government paid private firms millions of pounds each year to intercept and bring migrants ashore after they were picked up in the Channel.
Downing Street said that border patrol officers were the “best-suited candidate” to deal with such operations.
Asked about Reform’s proposal, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Royal Navy had primacy for small boat crossings under the previous government in 2022. I’d remind you there was no reduction in small boat crossings in that period.
“The Royal Navy is already tackling many threats, including monitoring any Russian warships operating near our shores, protecting our waters and our critical national infrastructure.
“Border patrol officers have significant capabilities and skills that make them the best-suited candidate to lead small boats operations in the Channel.
“That’s why we’re driving down the number of crossings. It’s why they’re down almost 50% compared to last year and why almost 60% of attempted crossings have been stopped since this Government came to power.”
Labour also accused Nigel Farage of using the issue as a distraction from questions over a reported £5m donation from a crypto billionaire, for which he has received intense media and public scrutiny.
