Outrage as Reform's Robert Jenrick says Royal Navy should be allowed to use 'lethal force' against migrants

A Reform MP has sparked outrage after suggesting Royal Marines will be allowed to use "lethal force" on migrants in the Channel if Nigel Farage becomes Prime Minister. Robert Jenrick said permitting the Navy to endanger lives would solve small boat crossings "within a matter of days". He made the remark shortly after Mr Farage unveiled his plans to close the UK to asylum seekers - leading to criticism from religious leaders and human rights campaigners. Lord Alf Dubs, a Labour peer who fled the Nazis as a child on the Kindertransport rescue effort, told The Mirror Mr Jenrick's words were "horrific". Former Tory immigration minister Mr Jenrick, Reform's pick to be Chancellor if Mr Farage gets into No10, told Talk TV: "What we are going to do, and we're the only political party that has the courage to say this, is deploy the Royal Marines into the Channel. If they need to use lethal force, then they'll be able to do so. "That's obviously not what we want to see happen. We want to see these individuals picked up off the boats in a sensible and reasonable way, and taken straight back to France. "But I think the problem would come to an end very, very quickly, within a matter of days." Lord Dubs said: "It's against international law to endanger lives at sea, all these things are horrific." And he continued: "I think this goes against all our traditions, whatever Farage thinks about these people, they're people who are fleeing for their safety in this country." He said: "The idea of using force in this country and endangering their lives is totally, totally wrong." Labour chair Bridget Phillipson said: "Robert Jenrick's proposal to use 'lethal force' against asylum seekers in the English Channel is disgusting and illegal. Our armed forces are not going to start opening fire on unarmed civilians, and Reform are dragging their own reputations and credibility into the gutter by suggesting it. "The truth is that Nigel Farage is authorising ever more extreme positions in order to distract from his own funding scandals and as part of an increasingly vicious bidding war with other parties on the right. Decent people will see right through it and reject this toxic politics of division." Hardliner Mr Jenrick - who was a Home Office minister under Rishi Sunak - previously provoked outrage after it emerged he ordered murals of Mickey Mouse and Tom and Jerry were removed at a Dover asylum centre to make it less welcoming to children. Announcing his latest draconian policy, Mr Farage declared: "We cannot accept more asylum seekers while we still have no idea how many people are in the country illegally and the threat they pose." He announced at a press conference in Dover that under Reform all pending asylum cases would be rejected, with applicants then liable for deportation. He would also review the status of anyone who granted asylum since 2024 - with those from countries deemed safe losing their permission to remain in the UK. And Mr Farage said all legal resettlement routes would also be abolished - except for those set up for Ukrainians in 2022. Lord Dubs, who was six when he arrived in the UK from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, said Britain had led the way in protecting refugees, said it was depressing that a mainstream party is now talking about closing the asylum system. He said: "I think it's very depressing that we've suddenly taken a step back. We took the lead in setting up the European Court of Human Rights and the Geneva convention, this is part of our British tradition, we believe that people should have a route to safety. "I'm not saying we should take everybody, but we should play our part and not opt out of it." And he added: "I think Farage is trying to make himself look like Trump." Lord Dubs stated: "Most people do want action taken about the boats, but not the way Farage is suggesting, we should look at it internationally." Reform has previously said that it plans to lead the country according to Judeo Christian values - but has come in for heavy criticism from religious leaders. Rabbi David Mason, executive director at charity HIAS+JCORE told The Mirror: “Jewish values compel us to show solidarity and compassion to people who need this country’s protection. Closing the UK’s asylum system and refugee resettlement schemes would deny sanctuary to people fleeing war, persecution, and torture. There’s nothing fair or responsible about that. "The context is very different today, but our community understands all too well what it means to be denied safety. We’re proud that Jewish communities across the country draw on our history and put values into action by showing welcome today. Any UK government should support and encourage that work, not make it harder.” Louise Calvey, executive director of Asylum Matters, said: “This meaningless clickbait is nothing new: it’s the same lazy policy making that has already left our asylum system broken. The last Conservative Government banned asylum applications and look what it led to: a soaring asylum backlog, people trapped in limbo in crumbling converted hotels, and record-breaking irregular migration. "Instead of another shambles in the making, it’s perfectly possible to build an asylum system that works better for all of us, with safe routes, working rights and real support to let people rebuild their lives here in the UK - sadly, some politicians would rather ignore the evidence and keep recycling the same failed ideas." Natasha Tsangarides, associate director of advocacy at Freedom from Torture, said: "Reform UK’s proposal to suspend the asylum system for up to five years and mark everyone seeking sanctuary for deportation could risk sending people who have survived torture back into the hands of those who harmed them. "The right to seek asylum exists because people sometimes have no choice but to flee their homes to escape danger. It cannot simply be discarded for political convenience. "Blaming refugees and stripping away the safeguards that protect them is an age-old tool of authoritarianism." And Jon Featonby, from the Refugee Council, said: “These unworkable proposals would see us abandon our proud tradition of offering safety to victims of war, which our ancestors established in response to the horrors of World War Two. “In our frontline services, we see how Britain’s asylum system has protected people who have escaped brutal violence in countries like Sudan, or fled repression under regimes like the Taliban. Over the last seventy five years, our asylum system has been the difference between life and death for thousands of refugees, allowing them to rebuild their lives in safety and go on to play a part in Britain. “Closing our asylum system would cause chaos. Desperate people would still arrive on our shores, but instead of entering an orderly system, they would be driven underground and vulnerable to exploitation and abuse." Lib Dem MP Max Wilkinson, the party's home affairs spokesman, said: "Farage's asylum plans are borrowed straight from the Trump playbook. Slap countries with tariffs and visa bans, whilst turning away children who are fleeing war torn countries. "They push for Brexit 2.0 as if the first Brexit was a success to build on, but we all know it was a disaster. The UK can only restore order, control and fairness by joining the EU migration and asylum pact."