Reform UK MP Suella Braverman has warned that the small-boats crisis is spreading along Britain’s southern coast, after 120 illegal immigrants arrived near Portsmouth following an exceptionally long crossing from Normandy.
“This crisis is extending across our southern border to other counties, and for the first time, illegal migrants are arriving in Portsmouth,” said Braverman, Reform UK’s MP for nearby Fareham and Waterlooville.
“That’s a longer journey for these migrants. That means they’re becoming more ambitious, they’re becoming more daring, and they’re becoming better at getting to the UK. Far from stopping the boats, far from beating the illegal migrants, this government is losing this battle.”
Braverman added: “The boats are getting bigger. The number of passengers is increasing. The routes are getting longer. These migrants are getting better at getting into the UK.”
Most small-boat crossings have until now focused on the Dover Strait, where the distance from France to England is at its shortest. But the Portsmouth crossing, launched from much further west along the French coast, shows how people-smuggling gangs are adapting their tactics and routes.
Braverman said the incident marked “a new chapter in this long-standing crisis”.
It came shortly after the British and French governments announced a new French police unit of just 45 officers to target the larger vessels increasingly used by the gangs.
But Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has dismissed the plan as hopelessly inadequate. “Forget about 45 - you need 45,000 people to police a stretch like that”, he said.
Operation Fortress under a Reform government would see the Royal Navy deployed to intercept every small boat, and remove and return those on board to France, while detaining and deporting all illegal immigrants already in Britain. At Reform UK’s party conference last week, Farage signed an agreement with Jordan Bardella, leader of France’s National Rally, to work together to stop the boats - a partnership he said means “we can do this”.
“This crisis is extending across our southern border to other counties, and for the first time, illegal migrants are arriving in Portsmouth,” said Braverman, Reform UK’s MP for nearby Fareham and Waterlooville.
“That’s a longer journey for these migrants. That means they’re becoming more ambitious, they’re becoming more daring, and they’re becoming better at getting to the UK. Far from stopping the boats, far from beating the illegal migrants, this government is losing this battle.”
Braverman added: “The boats are getting bigger. The number of passengers is increasing. The routes are getting longer. These migrants are getting better at getting into the UK.”
Most small-boat crossings have until now focused on the Dover Strait, where the distance from France to England is at its shortest. But the Portsmouth crossing, launched from much further west along the French coast, shows how people-smuggling gangs are adapting their tactics and routes.
Braverman said the incident marked “a new chapter in this long-standing crisis”.
It came shortly after the British and French governments announced a new French police unit of just 45 officers to target the larger vessels increasingly used by the gangs.
But Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has dismissed the plan as hopelessly inadequate. “Forget about 45 - you need 45,000 people to police a stretch like that”, he said.
Operation Fortress under a Reform government would see the Royal Navy deployed to intercept every small boat, and remove and return those on board to France, while detaining and deporting all illegal immigrants already in Britain. At Reform UK’s party conference last week, Farage signed an agreement with Jordan Bardella, leader of France’s National Rally, to work together to stop the boats - a partnership he said means “we can do this”.
