Nigel Farage has denied that a Reform UK government would allow the military to routinely use lethal force against people crossing the English Channel. According to the Guardian, he was speaking to LBC on 13 October in response to Robert Jenrick’s comments about deploying Royal Marines to take migrants back to France. Farage did not, however, rule out force in every circumstance: he said troops could respond if they came under fire.
The dispute concerns pledges for a possible Reform UK victory at the next election, rather than existing legislation or a military operation already under way. That distinction matters: the politicians are outlining a future government’s plans, not a change to the rules currently applied in the Channel.
Jenrick, a Reform UK MP who defected from the Conservatives, told TalkTV that his party would deploy the Royal Marines — Britain’s marine infantry force — to the Channel. Troops would take people off boats and transport them to France. The Guardian reported that Jenrick also said they could use lethal force if they needed to. He stressed, however, that using force was not desirable and that he wanted the operation to be carried out sensibly.
Speaking to LBC, Farage argued that Jenrick’s remarks had been misinterpreted. He said British troops had the right to respond if fired upon, describing it as meeting force with force. His position therefore rejects the routine use of lethal force against migrant crossings, rather than ruling it out entirely during the proposed operation.
Defence minister Luke Pollard criticised the comments. Speaking to Times Radio, he described them as abhorrent and illegal, and stressed that the armed forces could not accept unlawful orders. The assessment of legality reported by the Guardian is the minister’s position, not a court ruling on Reform UK’s plan.
Farage continued to present taking people back to France as a policy his party would implement after winning an election. Those pledges alone, however, establish neither that the policy would be introduced nor that it would succeed in stopping Channel crossings.
