A former Conservative MP has backed Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s call for Royal Navy intervention in the Channel as more illegal migrants cross into Britain.
Speaking to GB News, Mark Field declared the illegal migrant crisis is a “national security issue”, calling for further support in the Channel to prevent small boats from crossing.
GB News can exclusively confirm that almost 900 illegal immigrants have crossed since Friday, with Border Force vessels responding to more small boat sightings in the English Channel this morning.
So far two boats have made it to UK waters, taking advantage of a weather window which deteriorates again later this afternoon.
The Border Force Vessel Defender arrived into Dover harbour just after 9am on bank holiday Monday.
Reacting to the reports, Mr Field told GB News that Border Force must get the Royal Navy involved “in some form or another”.
He said: “It is incapable of solving, and it’s very easy to blame the French, but I think that’s slightly unfair to do so, notwithstanding the fact that they’re being paid a lot of money, it is a large shoreline that is very difficult to guard 24/7.
“And you’ve got determined people trying to make a lot of misery for us all, but I suppose my view to be honest is this is now a national security issue, and we need to get the Royal Navy involved in some form or another.”
Former Tory MP Mark Field has called on the Royal Navy to get involved in blocking small boat Channel crossings
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GB News host Christopher Hope interjected Mr Field, suggesting he “sounds like a Reform UK leader”.
Mr Field disagreed, responding: “Well no, but I think that is true though.
“And the trouble is there’s no point of throwing our hands in the air and saying we can do nothing, there are things that can be done.”
Pushing back on Mr Field’s argument, Christopher told the ex-MP that it would put the Navy in a “difficult situation”.
GB News understands that at least one migrant boat conducted a river launch near Dunkirk on Monday | GB NEWS
He said: “The Navy, all that they’ll do with migrants is tow them back to France or leave them in the water to risk their lives?
“No one wants to do that either, so you’re putting the Navy in a difficult situation, caused by a policy failure.”
Weighing in on the debate, political commentator Matthew Torbitt argued that the Government must look at the “1951 Convention on Human Rights” as opposed to leaving the ECHR.
He explained: “There’s a lot of talk about the ECHR, and the ECHR has overturned 13 asylum cases since 1980. Is it an issue? Yes, is it the big issue? No, it’s not. I think if you leave that, the boats still come.
“You have to look at the 1951 Convention on Human Rights that we signed up to with the UN. That was for a different time, that was for Jews fleeing Germany for good reason, fleeing their own persecution. And I think you have to look at going back to the convention and redoing it.”
Mr Field told GB News that the migrant crisis is becoming a ‘national security issue’
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Mr Torbitt told GB News: “You can’t leave it because you become an international pariah and everyone leaves it, but what you need is pinch points across Europe, across where people are leaving, Syria or Afghanistan, wherever.
“And you either go to your British embassy or you go to these centres to prove who you are.”
He concluded: “We’ve got too many people throwing passports in the channel and whatever else, and I think that is how you do it.
“Because then if somebody is coming across the Channel, you have to assume they’re not genuine, because you’ve had several opportunities on your path to to register who you are and why you’re fleeing and whether you really are a refugee.”