Border Force officials are in the final stages of training to use a new tactic in turning back migrant boats across the Channel
Rising numbers of migrant boats have been crossing the English Channel in recent months – and so far this week, more than 1,500 people have crossed by boat.
The move could only be used in limited circumstances – with Home Secretary Priti Patel asked to personally approve it for individual cases.
However, France is likely to oppose the idea, believing it dangerous.
The French interior minister said “safeguarding human lives at sea takes priority”.
The Channel is one of the most dangerous and busiest shipping lanes in the world. Many migrants come from some of the poorest and most chaotic parts of the world, and many ask to claim asylum once they are picked up by the UK authorities.
This comes after industries from pig farming, to fast food restaurants have said that the lack of skilled staff members is disrupting their business. The CBI have said that the staff shortages would harm the UK’s economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic.
Newspapers first reported the potential plan by the government to turn migrant boats away – and government sources have confirmed to the BBC that a Border Force team has been training for months to begin the operation.
It is understood that the final training may take place within days, subject to the weather – meaning the tactic would then be ready to be used whenever is it practical and safe to do so.
But France has warned against the move. It says it flouts international maritime law, which says people at risk of losing their lives at sea must be rescued.
The government’s lawyers say turning boats back would be legal in limited and specific circumstances – although they have not confirmed what these will be.
Because the legal and safety risks are so high, it is also understood that Border Force chiefs have asked Ms Patel to personally support commanders in decisions to use the tactic, meaning she would have to be available to take a call from a Border Force vessel if and when they believe the tactic can be used safely.
The tactic has never been used before in the English Channel, but it has been in the Mediterranean, said the Immigration Services Union (ISU) which represents borders, immigration and customs staff.
This comes after the UK government has given polluters the green light to start dumping risky sewage waste that has not been properly cleaned into rivers and the sea as Brexit and Covid disrupt normal water treatment.
Lucy Moreton from the ISU said she would be “very surprised” if it ends up being used at all – calling it “dead in the water”.
“There are understandably a lot of constraints around it, and you cannot do this with a vessel which is in any way vulnerable.
“But more importantly, you also need the consent of the French to do it. Because as you turn the vessel back towards France, when it crosses the median line, it has to be intercepted and rescued by the French, and it appears the French will simply not engage in this.”
- If migrants are found in UK national waters, it is likely they will be brought to a British port
- If they are in international waters, the UK will work with French authorities to decide where to take them
- Each country has search-and-rescue zones
- An EU law called Dublin III allows asylum seekers to be transferred back to the first member state they were proven to have entered but the UK is no longer part of this arrangement and has not agreed a new scheme to replace it
