Reform UK hold press conference on immigration after criticism of pledge to use Navy to stop small boats - politics live

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Reform UK's pledge to use Navy to stop small boats criticised ahead of press conference

Good morning and welcome to our coverage of UK politics. Reform UK is today pledging to use the Royal Navy to stop small boat crossings if the party wins the next general election.

The boats in the channel would be intercepted by the Navy and returned to France or Belgium under a plan called “operation fortress”.

The party 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.

Similar proposals have been suggested by the Conservatives before, but never materialised due to concerns around legality and the potential flouting of international treaties.

Last Wednesday was the busiest day for small boat crossings across the Channel so far this year, with 752 people arriving in the UK, as the Guardian’s political correspondent, Alexandra Topping, notes in this story.

But official provisional figures indicate that 14,526 have entered the UK so far in 2026, 43% lower than the number recorded by this time last year (25,436) and down 14% on the same period in 2024 (16,903).

In reaction to Reform’s pledge, a Labour party spokesperson said Nigel Farage’s party “have reheated an old announcement in their latest desperate bid to distract from their growing sleaze scandals”.

Retired Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe, meanwhile, suggested the proposal “lacks quite a lot of substance”. “We have the border force already to do this,” he told the BBC’s Today programme.

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is losing support to Restore Britain. Photograph: James Veysey/Shutterstock

Farage is fighting a byelection after resigning his seat of Clacton in an attempt to shake off a deepening donations scandal, given charge by a revelation from the Guardian’s City editor, Anna Issac, that he had failed to declare a £5m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.

All other mainstream parties have declined to stand a candidate against him, making a mockery of what Farage tried to frame as a “people versus the establishment” byelection. Farage is set to comfortably win the contest – but has gifted the political stage to the new government who have announced a raft of policies and been on a media blitz over recent weeks.

Reform UK’s increasingly hard-right policies and rhetoric come as it loses support to Restore Britain, a breakaway party even further to the right which is led by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe.

Lowe has been a thorn in Farage’s side since he was stripped of the Reform party whip last year after being accused of bullying and making alleged threats against the then party chair, Zia Yusuf, claims that he denies.

In a surprise move over the weekend, Lowe extended an olive branch to Farage, offering him a deal to unite the so-called “patriotic right” of British politics, as Andy Burnham improves Labour’s polling and aims to win back some of the same voters Reform UK is targeting.

In a statement not explicitly mentioning the offer from Restore or Rupert Lowe’s name, Farage said he recognised the need to accept support from other parties and said Reform has “always been open to anyone”.

Farage will appear at a press conference in Westminster alongside Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesperson, from 11am. He will likely be asked about the potential Reform-Restore pact, his Royal Navy policy and his finances.

Nigel Farage is speaking at his press conference in London to lay out more details about his plan to deploy the Royal Navy in the English Channel to stop small boat crossings, a proposal which has been criticised for being unworkable. You can watch it live here:

Reform UK deputy’s leader, Richard Tice, is under investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over a possible failure to declare an interest.

According to the commissioner’s website, the investigation was opened on 28 July.

The political saliency of the UK’s policies around illegal migration has risen since tens of thousands of people from Morocco crossed in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta last week, causing dozens of people to die (including by drowning or being crushed) and triggered a political crisis for Madrid. Spanish officials have subsequently said that almost all those who reached Ceuta on Thursday have since returned.

Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, said his party’s small boats plan was partly inspired by what he saw in Ceuta. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning:

\n I saw soldiers using pepper spray into interacting directly with migrants that were acting in a disorderly fashion.\n And in using the military, what I saw was Spain was able to remove, effectively send back, what looked like north of 40,000 illegal migrants in the space of a day.\n

Former Royal Naval Cmdr Tom Sharpe cast doubt over the feasibility of Reform’s proposal.

“When you start looking at what ships we have, which is basically none – I mean, he’s talking about the largest maritime operation in the Channel since World War Two, a very evocative image, but that’s not the reality,” Sharpe told the Today programme.

“We don’t have the ships,” he said, adding that using warships might be a waste of resources, if their anti-air and anti-submarine capabilities were better suited to other scenarios.

He said Border Force is already set up to intercept people trying to reach Britain, and warned that Paris could end up refusing to accept migrants being taken to French shores by the Royal Navy.

Responding to the scenario, Yusuf said it would be a “crime against humanity” not to let them disembark. He added that given migrants have died crossing the English Channel, the boats would be “full of innocent civilians who are being rescued as part of a humanitarian mission”.

Reform UK says it will use the Royal Navy to intercept and turn back small boats to mainland Europe, if it wins the next general election.Zia Yusuf is asked by @amolrajan about a scenario in which France don't let the migrants disembark back onto their soil. pic.twitter.com/aAjdnhxY7c— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) August 3, 2026

The leader of Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe, told the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, that if he was “prepared to work together around serious policies, serious reform and serious government, then so are we”.

In a video posted on X on Sunday, Lowe said:

\n I truly believe there could be sufficient common ground for our two movements to cooperate collectively, destroy the looming leftwing alliance that will finish off what hope remains for this country.\n In my view, failing to even try because of our own personal difficulties is simply not an option. Now is the time to put our differences aside and cooperate for the good of the country that we all love.\n

The offer comes after Restore Britain placed fourth in the Greater Manchester mayoral byelection, where its candidate, Marlon West, took 8.7% of the vote. Reform’s Sian Astley came second on 21%, behind Labour’s Andy Burnham’s successor, Bev Craig.

Lowe asked Farage to put “personalities and our past disagreements aside” and he set five conditions for cooperation:

\n Mass deportation of illegal migrants “including women and children”.
\n Tougher rules on legal migration, a ban on halal and kosher slaughter, the burqa, cousin marriage and sharia courts.
\n A referendum on the death penalty.
\n Welfare cuts to fund “self-sufficiency”.
\n The exclusion of former Tory ministers from any future cabinet.

“Mass deportations must become a political inevitability,” he said. “They must all go.”

Good morning and welcome to our coverage of UK politics. Reform UK is today pledging to use the Royal Navy to stop small boat crossings if the party wins the next general election.

The boats in the channel would be intercepted by the Navy and returned to France or Belgium under a plan called “operation fortress”.

The party 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.

Similar proposals have been suggested by the Conservatives before, but never materialised due to concerns around legality and the potential flouting of international treaties.

Reform UK’s increasingly hard-right policies and rhetoric come as it loses support to Restore Britain, a breakaway party even further to the right which is led by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe.

Key events

51m agoNigel Farage holds press conference on small boat crossings
1h agoRichard Tice under investigation by parliamentary standards watchdog
2h agoFormer navy officer criticises Reform plan to use military to stop small boats
3h agoRupert Lowe urges Nigel Farage to work with Restore Britain
3h agoReform UK's pledge to use Navy to stop small boats criticised ahead of press conference

Zia Yusuf said under the plan Reform will create an “integrated surveillance command”, which he claims will “unify” military and intelligence surveillance, making “ours the most surveilled maritime border in the world”.

“Any vessel attempting to cross illegally will be intercepted by our armed forces who will return them back to France,” he said, adding that emergency legislation would be given to the armed forces to equip them with the “necessary powers”.

Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesperson, described how successive governments failed to bring down the levels of illegal immigration, saying the current Labour government is continuing the Conservatives’ “betrayal”.

“This is a national security emergency. Yet successive Tory and Labour governments have treated this emergency with contemptible weakness,” Yusuf said, condemning the use of tax-payer funded hotels and claimed previous administrations “surrendered the English channel to criminal cartels”.

Although the levels vary, often due to weather, the number of small boats crossings have been on a downward trend since they peaked in 2022.

Those arriving on small boats are often trying to escape rapid climate change, famine, oppressive governments and war across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

As my colleague Rajeev Syal notes in this story, refugee charities have called for new safe and legal routes to be opened for applicants, so they do not have to get into overcrowded boats run by smuggling gangs.

Nigel Farage described his small boats proposal as a “combined military operation” that will “save lives” and a “huge amounts of money”.

He claimed the policy, which would involve the navy picking up people trying to make irregular Channel crossings and taking them to France, woule be compliant with international law.

“I am entirely confident that under a Reform government, within a fortnight, there would be no more boats,” Farage said.

Nigel Farage holds press conference on small boat crossings

Nigel Farage speaks at Reform UK press conference in London – watch live

Richard Tice under investigation by parliamentary standards watchdog

Reform UK deputy’s leader, Richard Tice, is under investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over a possible failure to declare an interest.

According to the commissioner’s website, the investigation was opened on 28 July.

Sarah Butler

In other news, the chancellor, John Healey, has said the government is standing by to prevent the public from “being taken for a ride at the pump or the till” as the Iran war continues to hit prices.

While he said there had been “no significant evidence of so-called price gouging” during the crisis, he used a weekend column to tell the big retailers that ministers were “watching closely” for any signs of profiteering.

Healey faces a difficult economic balancing act as the energy price shock caused by the months-long conflict in the Middle East reignites the cost of living crisis.

Last week the Bank of England kept UK interest rates on hold as it warned that a further escalation in the Iran war could drive inflation above 4% next year, adding to financial pressures on households.

Healey’s comments came as a new report warned that UK economy could fall into recession next year if the crucial Strait of Hormuz remains closed into 2027 amid a prolonged conflict. You can read more on this story here:

Speaking to Sky News, Zia Yusuf expressed disappointment in Reform UK’s performance in both the Manchester mayoral election and the Makerfield parliamentary election.

The party’s home affairs spokesperson said:

double quotation markWe have had a few election results that have been disappointing. And we acknowledge that. We look at that. We want to keep learning and we want to keep listening to voters and making sure that we’re making the case for why we need a Reform government.

Former navy officer criticises Reform plan to use military to stop small boats

Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, said his party’s small boats plan was partly inspired by what he saw in Ceuta. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning:

double quotation markI saw soldiers using pepper spray into interacting directly with migrants that were acting in a disorderly fashion. And in using the military, what I saw was Spain was able to remove, effectively send back, what looked like north of 40,000 illegal migrants in the space of a day.

Former Royal Naval Cmdr Tom Sharpe cast doubt over the feasibility of Reform’s proposal.

“We don’t have the ships,” he said, adding that using warships might be a waste of resources, if their anti-air and anti-submarine capabilities were better suited to other scenarios.

He said Border Force is already set up to intercept people trying to reach Britain, and warned that Paris could end up refusing to accept migrants being taken to French shores by the Royal Navy.

Reform UK says it will use the Royal Navy to intercept and turn back small boats to mainland Europe, if it wins the next general election.Zia Yusuf is asked by @amolrajan about a scenario in which France don't let the migrants disembark back onto their soil. pic.twitter.com/aAjdnhxY7c— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) August 3, 2026

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Rupert Lowe urges Nigel Farage to work with Restore Britain

Morgan Ofori

In a video posted on X on Sunday, Lowe said:

double quotation markI truly believe there could be sufficient common ground for our two movements to cooperate collectively, destroy the looming leftwing alliance that will finish off what hope remains for this country. In my view, failing to even try because of our own personal difficulties is simply not an option. Now is the time to put our differences aside and cooperate for the good of the country that we all love.

Rupert Lowe told Nigel Farage they should work together – but only if the Reform UK leader agrees to five conditions. Photograph: Ben Whitley/PA

Lowe asked Farage to put “personalities and our past disagreements aside” and he set five conditions for cooperation:

Mass deportation of illegal migrants “including women and children”.
Tougher rules on legal migration, a ban on halal and kosher slaughter, the burqa, cousin marriage and sharia courts.
A referendum on the death penalty.
Welfare cuts to fund “self-sufficiency”.
The exclusion of former Tory ministers from any future cabinet.

“Mass deportations must become a political inevitability,” he said. “They must all go.”

Reform UK's pledge to use Navy to stop small boats criticised ahead of press conference

Good morning and welcome to our coverage of UK politics. Reform UK is today pledging to use the Royal Navy to stop small boat crossings if the party wins the next general election.

The boats in the channel would be intercepted by the Navy and returned to France or Belgium under a plan called “operation fortress”.

The party 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.

Similar proposals have been suggested by the Conservatives before, but never materialised due to concerns around legality and the potential flouting of international treaties.

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is losing support to Restore Britain. Photograph: James Veysey/Shutterstock

Reform UK’s increasingly hard-right policies and rhetoric come as it loses support to Restore Britain, a breakaway party even further to the right which is led by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe.

Source note