Nigel Farage rows back on Jenrick’s claim that Reform would let Navy use ‘lethal force’ against migrants

Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in Nigel Farage has rowed back on Robert Jenrick ’s claim that Reform UK would let the Royal Navy use “lethal force” against migrants after the comments were met with widespread backlash. The Reform leader said his Treasury spokesperson’s comments were being “utterly misconstrued”, insisting he would not authorise routine use of force and that it would be used only if soldiers were fired at. Mr Jenrick had on Monday told TalkTV that a Reform government would let the Royal Marines use “lethal force” against migrants crossing the Channel without permission. “Deploy the Royal Marines into the Channel”, he said. “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. “And I think the problem would come to an end very, very quickly, you know, within a matter of days.” But Mr Farage later clarified: “Anybody wearing British military uniform who gets fired at has the right to respond. That’s what he was saying. “Remember, in these camps, every week there are shootings, there are stabbings. “We are dealing here with very, very serious international criminal organisations, and what we’re saying is, we will, if we win the next election, pick these people up and take them back to France. open image in gallery Luke Pollard hit out at Mr Jenrick's remarks ( AFP/Getty ) “There is a possibility that initially that might be met with some force. If it is, force will be met with force. But I tell you something: within two weeks of boats being taken back to France, the boats will stop coming.” Mr Farage’s watering down of the comments came after a defence minister said Mr Jenrick ’s suggestion was “disgusting and illegal”. Luke Pollard told Times Radio the comments were “abhorrent” to British military values. Hitting out at the comments, Mr Pollard told Times Radio: “That's disgusting and illegal. Our Royal Navy are not allowed, as all armed forces are, to accept an illegal order. “We do not shoot unarmed civilians. We do not take military action against civilians. “The idea of this, when you extend from the soundbite designed by Reform to distract from their sleaze and the scandal, designed to take away attention on where the £5m came from for Nigel Farage , when you go into the detail of this, it is abhorrent to British military values.” He added: “It's abhorrent to British values, and frankly, it's illegal and disgusting. And I don't think that anyone should give this any truck, because we can all see what this is. It's a simple attempt to distract from Reform's internal woes by seeking to put a dead cat on the table. “Here's something to distract you. Talk about our latest extreme soundbite that we're deliberately designing to take attention away from what actually the news is, which is the sleaze and scandal engulfing Reform, the Reform councillors leaving in droves because their party's falling apart. And I'll have no part to play in promoting their disgusting ideas.” Mr Pollard also insisted that soldiers are likely to refuse such an order, explaining: “All our armed forces have high values. We train high values, the very best of British values, into all our armed forces. open image in gallery Robert Jenrick's proposals attracted significant criticism ( Getty ) “A core tenet of that is no one in the UK armed forces is allowed to accept an illegal order. They are certainly not allowed to shoot unarmed civilians in a maritime environment. And I think that's pretty obvious for everyone.” The remarks from Mr Jenrick were also criticised by the prime minister, who told the Commons: “I can remember a time when (Mr Jenrick) stood up in this House and made serious proposals. Sadly, not today. “If he checked the facts recently, he will see that small boat crossings are coming down under this government. “When he was immigration minister, what did they do? They went up and up and up.” Meanwhile, Bridget Phillipson described the proposal as “disgusting and illegal”. The Labour Party’s chairwoman in a statement added: “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.” Recorded Channel crossings are at their lowest since 2021, with 20,935 arrivals so far this year. This is down 42 per cent on this time last year (36,244), and 19 per cent below the figure at this stage in 2023 (25,931), when Mr Jenrick was the Conservative immigration minister. The row over Mr Jenrick’s comments comes after Reform UK’s latest plans to suspend Britain’s asylum system for five years have been branded a “dangerous dog whistle” which would leave refugees vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Mr Farage announced the policy on Monday which would see all pending asylum cases rejected , with applicants then liable for deportation. All legal resettlement routes would also be abolished, except for those set up for Ukrainians in the wake of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. The plans sparked backlash from campaigners, who have called it “profoundly un-British” and a “shambles in the making”.