by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
LONDON (Worthy News) – British Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged “relentless” action to curb illegal migration after official figures showed that more than 2,000 asylum seekers crossed the English Channel in small boats during his first two weeks in office.
The renewed focus on migration came as the opposition Reform UK party unveiled a proposal dubbed “Operation Fortress,” promising to intercept and return small boats to France if elected.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the plan would make Britain’s borders “impenetrable” and claimed that “within a fortnight, there would be no more boats.”
Farage announced the proposal while pointing to migration pressure in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, where tens of thousands of migrants have arrived, most of them illegally, after making dangerous journeys that have claimed dozens of lives.
His remarks come as Reform UK faces declining poll numbers and renewed scrutiny over gifts and donations to senior party figures.
LEGAL QUESTIONS RAISED
The ruling Labour Party accused Reform UK of repackaging previous immigration proposals to divert attention from questions surrounding the party’s finances.
Security experts also questioned whether the plan could be implemented.
Andrew Fox, a former British paratrooper and senior associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, said British warships could not enter French territorial waters, seize migrant boats, or return migrants to Calais without France’s consent.
“This is the gap at the center of the policy,” Fox said.
Migration remains one of the most contentious political issues in Britain, with successive governments struggling to stop asylum seekers from crossing the Channel in small boats despite tighter border measures and cooperation with France.
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