Furore as Marine commander who liberated the Falklands says: Machine-gun the migrants' boats

The commander who led the land operation to liberate the Falklands has triggered a furore by saying that boats carrying migrants across the Channel should be machine-gunned. 'I would shoot them,' Major-General Julian Thompson told a documentary about mass immigration to Britain. The Home Office warned today that anyone taking the law into their own hands would face 'serious criminal consequences', while the Tories stressed that 'opening fire on migrant boats would be completely wrong'. Maj Gen Thompson, 92, who headed 3 Commando Brigade during the conflict, said of the thousands of migrants who land on UK shores each month: 'We could stop them tomorrow if we really had the guts. I'd shoot them, sorry, but I would.' When contacted by The Mail on Sunday, Maj Gen Thompson clarified that he thought the bullets should be aimed at the vessels, not the occupants. Asked if he feared a backlash to his remarks, Maj Gen Thompson said: 'As long as they don't come around here, I don't mind what they do. 'They come over here and rape our girls. One machine-gun blast is all it would take... then they would get the message. I just want them to bugger off. 'If they [the Government] don't stop them then there will be a revolution. Our leaders are just wet.' Major-General Julian Thompson has caused a furore by saying that boats carrying migrants across the Channel should be machine-gunned Maj Gen Thompson told a documentary about mass immigration to Britain that: 'We could stop them tomorrow if we really had the guts. I'd shoot them, sorry, but I would' Maj Gen Thompson with the then Prince Charles after he led the land operation to liberate the Falklands in 1982 Maj Gen Thompson's remarks were made to journalist Steven Edginton in a documentary being broadcast on Mr Edginton's YouTube channel this weekend. More than 20,000 small-boat migrants have arrived so far this year, down by 40 per cent compared with the same period in 2025. However, the numbers travelling on each vessel has increased, with an average of 67 migrants packing on to every boat. Maj Gen Thompson joined the Marines in 1952 and served for 34 years, writing numerous books on military history after he retired. He led the ground forces of Operation Sutton, the amphibious landings at San Carlos Water in May 1982, which established a secure beachhead on East Falkland despite heavy Argentine air attacks. On the eve of battle, he appeared on HMS Fearless with a piece of paper carrying the order to begin the operation, and told his men: 'Gentlemen, here we go.' In his YouTube interview, Maj Gen Thompson calls the Islamic beliefs held by many migrants 'a flawed religion, in that women are totally out. They can be treated like chattels, and children the same'. He also says Britain is 'just going downhill', adding: 'I'm glad I won't see it, I'll be dead. 'It's not Britain any more, it's a sort of funny conglomeration of people, and in a wet country that allows itself to be pushed around all over the place.' Baroness Thatcher shaking hands with Major General Thompson at the opening of the Imperial War Museum Exhibition on the Falklands War in 2007 Major General Thompson led the land operation to liberate the Falklands. Pictured: Survivors of the RFA Sir Galahad air attack coming ashore in life rafts at San Carlos Bay, as the supply ship blazes in the background Maj Gen Thompson aboard the Canberra as she returned from the Falklands and sailed into Southampton Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'Opening fire on migrant boats would be completely wrong. 'I understand people's anger at migrant crossings but we cannot shoot at people. There is another way to end this. 'If the French won't stop the boats near the shore then the British Government should deport every illegal immigrant within a week of arrival. 'This requires us to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, which the Conservative borders plan does, but the Labour Government is too weak to do. 'Instead of being deported on arrival, illegal immigrants get put up in hotels and flats. This has to end.' A Home Office spokesman said last night: 'This Government is bearing down on dangerous and illegal crossings. 'Anyone who seeks to take the law into their own hands is putting lives at risk and will face serious criminal consequences.'