// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Reform says it would use Navy to stop small boats
Reform UK says it would use the Royal Navy to "intercept" small boats crossing the English Channel and return them to France or Belgium.
Under plans to be announced at a news conference, the party says it would form the "largest military operation" in the Channel since World War Two.
When it was put to the party that the UK could not return migrants without French agreement, home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf claimed it would be possible.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to be "relentless" on tackling small boat crossings, and stressed the UK needs to build a system that offers asylum seekers "safe routes".
More than 2,000 migrants have arrived in the UK on small boats since Burnham became prime minister, and 326 people crossed the English Channel on Saturday. Home Office figures show crossings so far this year are down around 43% compared to the same period in 2025.
Reform's plan called "operation fortress" has been endorsed by "former senior members of our armed forces", Yusuf told BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
It would see Royal Navy vessels intercept all migrant boats in the Channel as part of a humanitarian response.
Yusuf described the scheme as "humanitarian missions" and insisted it would be compatible with rules under the European Convention on Human Rights as Article 2 protects the right to life.
International conventions on the sea allow for states to pick people up from boats if they are in danger of being lost but do not allow for them to be taken to another country without that nation's consent.
Yusuf accepted that the UK and France may have "a diplomatic argument" if French authorities were to refuse to accept migrants escorted back to its shores, but insisted they have a "commitment under international law" to process migrants.