Royal Navy warships will not be used to stop migrant boats crossing The English Channel, MoD says

Parliamentary under-secretary for Defence, Luke Pollard, made the announcement when responding to a parliamentary written question on Tuesday (December 10). Rupert Lowe, Reform UK MP for Great Yarmouth, said: “To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of deploying naval assets to the English Channel to help tackle small boats crossing.”

Mr Pollard, Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, responded: “The Home Office is the lead Government Department responsible for border security and migration. It has recently established the Border Security Command to strengthen global partnerships and enhance the UK’s efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute people smugglers profiting from the dangerous movement of people across the channel. Defence assets are procured for Defence tasks and are therefore not optimised for the issue the hon. Member raises.”

The BBC said as of December 1, 2024, 33,684 people had crossed the Channel in small boats this year. Of those, 20,110 arrived since Labour won the July general election. Small boat arrivals made up of roughly a quarter of total UK asylum applications in the 12 months to September - totalling 99,700 people.

The number of crossings in the year to date is higher than in 2023, when 29,437 arrived across the Channel, but is smaller than the highest recorded figure in 2022 - where 45,755 people made the dangerous crossing. The Portsmouth-based Coastal Forces Squadron, operating P2000 patrol boats, received the Firmin Sword of Peace award for saving lives of people making the treacherous crossing, and for maintaining busy shipping lanes.

Mr Pollard said Royal Navy warships will be primarily used for different security measures. This would include monitoring Russian and Chinese ships sailing close to the UK. Portsmouth-based frigate HMS Iron Duke was previously tasked with keeping her beady eyes on two Russian task groups travelling through UK waters, with RAF fighter jets based in Scotland also being scrambled.

Commander David Armstrong, Commanding Officer for HMS Iron Duke, previously said: “Having been heavily involved in this type of operation for the last six months, we’re glad to be back at it – protecting the integrity of our territorial waters and critical national infrastructure.”

Discussing such incidents, Mr Pollard added: “These assets play a critical part in preserving UK maritime security through shadowing and monitoring warships transiting the UK Exclusive Economic Zone or territorial waters. In 2024 alone, Royal Navy assets have responded to over 25 such transits.”