Royal Navy called in to help tackle Channel migrant crisis

The Royal Navy has been called in for the first time this summer to help tackle the Channel migrant crisis after more than 1,000 people reached the UK in the last ten days.

The Ministry of Defence announced on Saturday evening that it was sending a specialist team to “support the daily running of Border Force operations”, after another 90 people successfully made the crossing yesterday.

It is the first time since January 2019 that the Royal Navy has been employed in the effort to stop the clandestine crossings, and the taskforce of around a dozen officers will help to plan and organise operations, working alongside Border Force officials.

So far, no Navy ships have been requested, but the MoD said nothing was “off the table” if the flow of small boats could not be stemmed.

Pressure has been increasing on the Government to address the vast number of people arriving into UK waters, and increasingly onto UK beaches.

More than 4,500 have made the dangerous journey this year, compared to around 1,800 last year, and fewer than 400 in 2018.

In a video conference call with Conservative MPs last week, Home Secretary Priti Patel was alleged to have said: "France is a racist country. They would rather come to England."

French politicians called the claims "hateful", according to the Mail on Sunday, but sources close to Ms Patel sought to play down the row, saying: "‘Priti made clear these were migrants’ views – not hers."

In a thinly veiled attack on the Home Office, an MoD source told The Sunday Telegraph that “civilian authorities are not used to fast paced, large scale and constantly changing situations in the same way as the military. That’s what we do.”

Already, the RAF has been helping Border Force in the Channel with A400M and P-8 Poseidon aircraft searching and tracking small boats.

Now, Shadow R1 aircraft, an intelligence gathering plane equipped with Electro Optical and Infra-Red sensors will also be employed to conduct surveillance and will operate over the coming weeks.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “The UK Armed Forces have once again proved, through both this and their incredible support during coronavirus, that they are always present and ready when we need them most.”

“These dangerous crossings ultimately put people’s lives in danger and it is right that we support the Border Force by providing specialist capabilities of Defence, and our expert personnel to stop this criminal behaviour.”