Foreign secretary Liz Truss insists Royal Navy will be continue to be used to tackle migrants crossing the Channel
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The Tory leadership frontrunner said she would ‘absolutely’ maintain the military presence following suggestions the scheme introduced by Boris Johnson could end.
But Ms Truss said the navy would ‘absolutely’ continue to play a role when asked by reporters in Scotland ahead of the latest hustings in the Tory leadership race.
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Hide Ad‘It is an absolute priority to make sure we deal with the issue of small boats and the appalling trade by people traffickers,’ she said in Elgin, north east of Inverness.
‘And I will use every tool at my disposal, if I am selected as prime minister, to make that happen.’
Her comments come amid reports suggest military chiefs were now seeking to row back on the Senior Service’s involvement in the migrant crisis.
The navy was put in charge of patrolling the English Channel in April, following record high numbers of asylum seekers arriving in Britain.
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Hide AdHowever, it has been claimed the navy will relinquish its responsibility in January, 2023.
A government source told the Telegraph that it wishes to give the charge back to Border Force ‘unless there are ministerial actions’.
So far more than 20,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed this week.
On Saturday 607 made the crossing in 14 boats - the third time the total has exceeded 600 in 2022.
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Hide AdThere were 28,526 crossings detected in 2021. By this point last year, just over 11,300 crossings had been made.
An MoD source has suggested the navy will continue to patrol the Channel and would help if needed, the Daily Express reported.
An MoD spokesman added: ‘As planned, defence support to the Home Office will continue until January 2023, at which point the operational and wider arrangements will be reviewed.
‘We are working across government to ensure the conditions are set for defence to hand the task back to the Home Office following the review, this includes supporting training and capability development.’
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