The deputy leader of Reform UK has revealed how his party would deal with France if they ever implement their plan to deal with the wave of small boats entering Britain.
Richard Tice told Sky News on Sunday morning with Trevor Phillips that Britain could have a “friendly standoff” with the French, but he quickly removed “war” from the equation.
Speaking to Trevor Phillips yesterday about what he described as the Labor government’s inability to ‘crush the gangs’, Mr Tice said: ‘It’s very simple. The government’s policy of crushing the gangs is clearly not working, and unfortunately people are literally dying… The only way to stop the boats is a variation of what Australia did.
‘We’ve talked about it before. I will repeat it again: you must collect the ship safely and return it to France, as we are legally entitled to do under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“And by the way, France has a legal obligation to do the same, and they are violating it. Therefore, we have the legal right to do this.
“If the French coast guard says ‘you are not coming in’, it is contrary to international law.”
Richard Tice told Sky News with Trevor Phillips on Sunday morning that Britain could have a ‘friendly standoff’ with the French
Border Force officers escort migrants to Dover Docks in Kent, United Kingdom on October 25, 2024
Asked how he would deal with the possibility of France refusing to take back migrants, Mr Tice said: ‘Well, then we have a stalemate… I’m not saying we should go to war, but we can. a friendly confrontation with friends.
“It’s the only way you can stop the deaths. We have a friendly and compassionate policy.’
The comments from the deputy leader of Reform UK come as was revealed. Labor could open more asylum hotels in the wake of new fears that there will soon be no more space.
Demand for families has soared as nearly 150,000 migrants have crossed the border in the past six years.
In June, there were almost 30,000 migrants in more than 250, costing the taxpayer £4.2 million every day.
Although no figures on the new number of asylum hotels have been confirmed, a Home Office source told the Times, more are coming in the “days and weeks”.
However, the insider claimed the number was lower than what the Conservatives had outlined ahead of Labour’s loveless landslide in the 2024 general election.
A group of people believed to be migrants are taken from a Border Force ship to Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel on October 15, 2024
Border Force officers escort migrants to Dover Docks in Kent, United Kingdom on October 25, 2024
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“When we came into government, and even before that, during access talks, we were told that the previous government had drawn up plans to open dozens of new asylum hotels,” the source told the newspaper. Times.
‘This was because the number of migrants crossing the Channel had increased by 18 per cent in the first half of the year and they had not processed any new claims.’
Ministers are developing contingency plans to avoid a repeat of the situation in autumn 2022, when the Manston asylum center in Kent became dangerously overcrowded, resulting in illness and violence due to insufficient ‘upstream accommodation’ for migrants after their processing.
Yvette Cooper is optimistic that the Home Office will process the 87,217 pending claims within one to one and a half years by increasing the decision rate.
There are currently a further 137,525 people waiting for their appeals to be answered or individuals waiting to be removed from Britain.
A total of 28,645 people are now believed to have crossed the Channel this year as of Friday alone, almost eight percent more compared to the same point last year.
Yesterday a large group of migrants were seen trying to cross the Channel on a small boat
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At least 55 people have died during the crossing in what has been described as the deadliest year for the crossing to date.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘This government has inherited an asylum system that is under unprecedented pressure, with thousands stuck in a backlog without their claims processed.
‘We have taken immediate action to restart the asylum process, which will save the taxpayer an estimated £7 billion over the next decade.
‘In the long term this will reduce our dependence on hotels and accommodation costs.
‘We remain absolutely committed to ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers and continue to identify a range of accommodation options to minimize their use.’
Nearly 300 migrants crossed the Channel on the same day. Three people tragically died and dozens were rescued last week while making the risky journey.
