Plan to let Navy push back Channel migrants ‘a failure’

PRITI PATEL’S plan to put the military in charge of tackling Channel migrants has “failed before it has started” because of public bickering between ministers and departments, MPS have warned.

MPS on the Defence Committee said the public disagreement between “two of the great offices of state” – Defence and Home Office – over the role of the Navy was “deeply unedifying” and further undermined public trust in the ability of the Government to solve the Channel migrant crisis.

“If one of the objectives is to restore public confidence then this disagreement has done the opposite and the operation has failed before it has even started,” said the MPS.

“We question whether announcing the policy before agreeing the detail was a wise move or rather one born of desperation. We hope that lessons will be learned from this experience.”

The military takeover was trailed nearly two months ago in the wake of last year’s tripling in the number of migrants crossing the Channel, from 8,400 to 28,400. However, the policy has yet to be formally unveiled and has been bedevilled by friction between the Home Office and MOD over whether the Navy will be involved in the controversial push-back tactics against the migrants’ boats.

The MPS noted that defence ministers’ statements that the Navy would not be involved was challenged by Ms Patel who said its operational role was yet to be agreed. This resulted in a tweet from the MOD press office that the Royal Navy and Marines “will not be using

‘If one of the objectives is to restore public confidence then this disagreement has done the opposite’

push-back tactics”. The Defence Committee warned that the military’s new role, called Operation Isotrope, was an “ill-defined policy, prematurely announced” before details had been finalised, adding that “the best-case scenario for the Royal Navy is that it will leave with its reputation unharmed”. It said adding responsibility for Channel migrants without an increase in its budget would take scarce resources from an “already overstretched” MOD.

The Committee said it was “seriously concerned by the lack of a clear end point for this operation”.