Nigel Farage Proposes Royal Navy Operation to Block Channel Boats

Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has proposed Operation Fortress, a plan to deploy the Royal Navy to intercept small boats in the English Channel and return asylum seekers to their points of origin. Farage describes the initiative as a humanitarian mission that complies with international law, characterizing it as the largest military operation in the Channel since World War Two.

The French government has already rejected the proposal. Additionally, TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson criticized the plan in a Sunday Times column, arguing that the operation is logistically impossible due to a lack of available ships and the physical difficulty of warships towing small dinghies. Clarkson also warned that Navy captains could face legal risks and that the United Nations would likely oppose the move.

A Reform UK source dismissed Clarkson's criticisms, stating that the party trusts the senior veterans who endorsed the plan more than the presenter.