Nigel Farage has said his party’s plan to intercept and return migrant boats crossing the English Channel would comply with international law.
Reform UK has proposed using the Royal Navy to transport migrants to France or Belgium under a plan called “operation fortress”.
The party described the scheme as a humanitarian response.
Setting out his party’s proposal at a press conference, the Reform UK leader said: “Operation fortress will be a combined military operation.
“It will save lives, it will help the French in fulfilling their job of stopping the boats and it will save a huge amount of money.
“We are very confident that our policy of securely picking people up and safely taking them back to France – we are entirely confident that that falls within other conventions of international law.”
Mr Farage added: “When you think about it, what is the Royal Navy for?
“If the Royal Navy is not there to protect this country from invasion, then, frankly, I can’t see what its purpose is.”
Reform said it would set up a joint military command with units from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, RAF and British Army as well as a surveillance operation.
It said the navy’s River-class offshore patrol vessels would be used for interception.
The ships’ current responsibilities include monitoring Russian naval activity around British waters.
Reform said the plan would not involve the use of so-called “pushbacks” by towing or barging their dinghies away from British waters.
The navy would intercept any unauthorised boats and detain their occupants, giving them water, food and a medical assessment before returning them to France or Belgium under escort on navy vessels, it said.
France has said the plan “would be a violation of French sovereignty as well as a violation of maritime law and international law”.
A spokesperson for the French interior ministry said: “Separately, as part of the measures put in place with the UK and the arrangements deployed at the local level, the interior ministry states that the number of crossings is down in 2026.”
Responding to these comments, a Reform UK spokesman said: “We will always stand up for British interests and protect our people, whether Emmanuel Macron likes it or not.
“Humanitarian missions do not violate maritime or international law.”
Downing Street said when the Royal Navy had primacy for small boat crossings in 2022, there was no reduction during that period.
No 10 added that border patrol officers were the “best-suited candidate” to deal with such operations.
Asked about Reform’s proposal, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Royal Navy had primacy for small boat crossings under the previous government in 2022. I’d remind you there was no reduction in small boat crossings in that period.
“The Royal Navy is already tackling many threats, including monitoring any Russian warships operating near our shores, protecting our waters and our critical national infrastructure.
“Border patrol officers have significant capabilities and skills that make them the best-suited candidate to lead small boats operations in the Channel.
“That’s why we’re driving down the number of crossings. It’s why they’re down almost 50% compared to last year and why almost 60% of attempted crossings have been stopped since this Government came to power.”
Reform 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.
Last Wednesday marked the busiest day for small boat crossings across the English Channel so far this year, with 752 migrants 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).
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “Reform UK have no detailed plan nor funding to back up their latest gimmick.
“They can’t explain how they will properly fund the military and they can’t explain how they would disembark illegal immigrants in France without French co-operation.”
Meanwhile, a YouGov poll has revealed that just 13% of Britons think France is genuinely trying to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats, while 62% believe they are not making a genuine effort.