The party says it would send the Royal Navy into the Channel to intercept all migrant boats and return them to France or Belgium under a plan called ‘Operation Fortress’
Reform UK is proposing to launch “the largest military operation in the English Channel since World War Two” in a bid to halt small boat crossings from France.
Under a Nigel Farage-led government, the Royal Navy would be deployed into the channel to intercept all migrant vessels and return them to France or Belgium as part of a strategy dubbed “operation fortress”.
The party maintains the plan complies with international law and would both stop small boat arrivals and serve as a humanitarian measure.
Zia Yusuf, the party’s home affairs spokesman, said: “Britain is being invaded. Tory and Labour governments responded with a free ferry service and free hotels.
“Reform UK will respond by launching the largest military operation in the English Channel since World War Two.
“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.”
He claimed the measure would render the border “impenetrable” and that “nobody” would succeed in reaching UK shores by small boat.
The party pointed to events in the North African Spanish enclave of Ceuta, where approximately 60,000 migrants breached the border to enter Spanish territory earlier this week, as evidence of the “urgency” behind Reform’s proposals for the UK.
The majority of migrants in Ceuta had returned to neighbouring Morocco by Sunday. Reform UK has described the central aim of its proposals as humanitarian, claiming it would save lives in the Channel.
According to the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory, a total of 162 people lost their lives in the English Channel between 2018 and 2025.
The party is proposing the establishment of a joint military command, drawing on units from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, RAF and British Army, alongside a surveillance operation to monitor incoming vessels.
Armed forces would intercept any unauthorised boats and detain those on board, providing water, food and a medical assessment before returning them under naval escort.
Emergency legislation would be passed “as necessary” to grant the joint command any additional powers required.
Last Wednesday was the busiest single day for small boat crossings in the English Channel so far this year, with 752 migrants reaching the UK.
However, overall arrival figures for 2026 to date have fallen compared with the same period last year.
The provisional total for the year stands at 14,526, which is 43% lower than the figure recorded at this point last year (25,436) and down 14% on the equivalent period in 2024 (16,903).
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