Navy to tow boats back to France, says Reform: Party unveils 'Operation Fortress' to combat Channel migrants

By CHRISTIAN CALGIE, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE Published: 22:44, 2 August 2026 | Updated: 22:44, 2 August 2026 Reform UK has pledged to launch 'the biggest military operation in the Channel since World War Two' to end migrant crossings. The plan, branded Operation Fortress, would see the Royal Navy put to work protecting Britain's borders and towing any small boats back to France. Reform's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf will unveil the policy on Monday, at the start of a week of announcements by the party on migration. He will be flanked by as-yet unnamed senior former members of the Armed Forces - who Reform claim have endorsed the scheme as 'operationally feasible', and one the rank-and-file of the military 'will be ready and able to do'. Mr Yusuf will say Britain is being 'invaded', accusing Tory and Labour governments of responding to the crisis by offering 'a free ferry service and free hotels'. He will say: 'Nigel Farage will order His Majesty's Royal Navy to ensure that not a single unauthorised vessel crossing the English Channel makes it to the shores of the United Kingdom. 'Those who attempt it will be intercepted by our Armed Forces and returned to France.'  Mr Yusuf also told the Daily Mail the Navy will be permitted to use lethal force if intelligence agencies confirm the presence of known terrorists or smuggling gang leaders. Operation Fortress will be unveiled by Reform UK's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf The plan would see the Royal Navy put to work protecting Britain's borders and towing any small boats back to France. Mr Yusuf pictured last week at Ceuta after 60,000 illegal migrants came through Spain's border  He said: 'Once the world realises that crossing the Channel illegally leads only to being intercepted by our Royal Marines and returned to France, the incentive structure breaks.  'These economic migrants will stop paying smugglers and the boats will stop coming. That is how we will stop the boats. Reform will stop the invasion.' More than 160 migrants have died trying to cross the Channel since 2018. Reform insists that the plan is legal under international law, citing the requirement to preserve life at sea. But it is likely to face significant challenges and opposition. International maritime law allows states to pick up people from vessels when they are found to be in distress at sea. But the laws do not permit those individuals to be transferred to another state unless that country has agreed to receive them. It is unlikely the French would react positively to the Navy towing migrants back to their shores. Reform admits the plan relies on the French complying with their obligations to stop the crossings. Mr Yusuf said under the plans, the Navy will be permitted to use lethal force if intelligence agencies confirm the presence of known terrorists or smuggling gang leaders on small boats The party appeared to issue a dare to the French president, stating: 'We do not believe Emmanuel Macron would order the French navy to open fire on a boat full of civilians escorted by Royal Marines conducting a humanitarian mission.'  Robert Jenrick, as immigration minister in the last Tory government before defecting to Reform, ditched plans to turn dinghies back to France in 2022. France has previously said that such plans would break international maritime law. At the time Mr Jenrick said: 'There are limited circumstances in which small boats can be turned around safely in the English Channel.' Mr Yusuf will set out plans to make the Channel 'the world's most surveilled maritime border' on Monday, with a Reform government creating an Integrated Surveillance Command that gives real-time ability to track all incoming boat launches using drones, the coastguard, helicopters and satellites.  A Labour spokesman accused Reform of 'reheating an old announcement in their desperate bid to distract from sleaze scandals. 'The actions we've taken have started to have a real impact and led to 46,000 attempted crossings stopped, and 70,000 people with no right to be here removed'.