REFORM UK wants to launch “the largest military operation in the English Channel since World War Two” to stop small boat arrivals from France.
It comes after a report suggested Nigel Farage had struck a secret deal to return as leader just months before the General Election in 2024.
A Farage-led Reform UK government would send the Royal Navy into the channel to intercept all migrant boats there and return them to France or Belgium under a plan called “operation fortress”, the party said.
Reform claims the plan is in line with international law and that it will both halt small boat arrivals and act as a humanitarian response. Farage will appear at a press conference on Monday to share further detail.
Labour criticised the “reheated” announcement and said “anger and easy answers won’t bring crossings down”.
The party said the situation in the North African Spanish enclave of Ceuta, where some 60,000 migrants breached the border to enter Spanish territory earlier this week, shows the “urgency” of Reform’s plan for the UK. Most of the migrants in Ceuta had walked back to neighbouring Morocco by Sunday.
The plan, which had already been touted last year, comes after it was reported that Farage negotiated a deal with Richard Tice, who was then party chief, in March and April 2024, to return as leader.
Farage later claimed he had no intention of returning to politics until June 2024.
Under that deal, once Farage became leader Reform would repay or write off more than £1 million in outstanding loans it had received from Tice’s company.
Farage received a £5m gift from crypto tycoon Christopher Harborne in April 2024, according to The Guardian. The gift is being investigated by the parliamentary standards watchdog, as Farage did not declare it despite receiving it in the 12 months before he was elected.
He has repeatedly insisted he was an "influencer" and media personality at the type of the gift, and was not under any obligation to declare it.
Farage told senior figures in Reform he would need a "million a year" to cover lost earnings if he stood to be an MP at the 2024 General Election, the newspaper reported.
A Reform source told the Press Association that Farage had been keeping his options open.
They said he had found out about the party’s liabilities and what loans would have to be repaid if he were to come back, then decided he would not do so, before later reversing that decision.
In a bid to attract voters back from Rupert Lowe's Restore party, Reform UK proposes to set up a joint military command with units from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, RAF and British Army as well as a surveillance command to track incoming boats.
The armed forces would intercept any unauthorised boats and detain their occupants, giving them water and food and a medical assessment before returning them under escort on navy vessels.
They would pass emergency legislation “as necessary” to give the joint command any further required powers.
Is Reform UK's "operation fortress" legal?
It is not legal to transfer individuals to another state if the county hasn't agreed to receive them.
The Reform's press note states "we do not believe President Macron would order the French Navy to open fire on a boat full of civilians escorted by Royal Marines conducting a humanitarian mission".
How busy is the Channel for crossings?
Last Wednesday marked the busiest day for small boat crossings across the English Channel so far this year, with 752 people arriving in the UK.
But the number of overall arrivals for 2026 so far has dropped since last year.
The provisional total for the year so far is 14,526, 43% lower than the number recorded by this time last year (25,436) and down 14% on the same period in 2024 (16,903).
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Reform have reheated an old announcement in their latest desperate bid to distract from their growing sleaze scandals.
“Anger and easy answers won’t bring crossings down. The serious action we’ve taken has started to have a real impact and has led to 46,000 attempted crossings stopped, and 70,000 people with no right to be here removed.
“We know there’s more to do on this complex issue.”
