Former Royal Navy commander warns Reform over ‘performative’ small boats plan as Britain’s fleet devastated

A former Royal Navy commander has warned Reform UK's plan to deploy sailors to tackle small boat crossings risks being “performative”, arguing Britain's shrinking fleet is already overstretched with global commitments.

Speaking to GB News, Tom Sharpe said the forces could carry out the task “swiftly and competently”, but questioned what it would achieve that the Border Force is not already doing under current policy.

Earlier today, Reform announced Operation Fortress, which Nigel Farage pledged would end the small boat crisis within two weeks of his party winning the next General Election.

It would see the navy intercept and return all small boats attempting to cross the Channel in the “largest military operation since World War Two”.

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“This is a vast, human complex problem with massively interlocking levers that reach miles inland into other people's countries,” Mr Sharpe said.

He argued ministers would first need to decide whether to change Border Force policy to turn migrant boats around before asking the Navy to take over the role.

The former commander also warned that deploying warships to the Channel would come at the expense of other military priorities.

He added this would include protecting Britain's critical national infrastructure.

“If you want the Royal Navy to do it... you're going to have to start recalling ships from around the world.

“Then it becomes a brutal issue of prioritisation,” Mr Sharpe warned.

“There are lots of people who think that is the priority and not, say, hunting Russian submarines over our critical undersea infrastructure.”

Even still, the former commander warned that the Royal Navy's capabilities had already been greatly reduced.

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He pointed to the planned early retirement of the Batch 1 River-class offshore patrol vessels under the Government's recent Defence Investment Plan.

Mr Sharpe argued these ships would be ideal for the border policing role Operation Fortress envisioned.

“Our best three ships for this are about to be chopped,” he said.

The former naval man said the alternative would be diverting specialist frigates or even “the one working destroyer we've got” from overseas operations.

Mr Sharpe also questioned the practicality of intercepting migrant boats at sea, warning Royal Marines would face determined groups of migrants in dangerous conditions.

He added that attempting to intercept boats at night in busy shipping lanes could itself create the very safety risks the operation was intended to prevent.

“The practicalities of this start unravelling… If you're naturally slightly cynical about the way we're doing this, then it starts to feel performative.”

France’s interior ministry has also already rejected Reform’s new policy, defending the current £600million deal with the Labour government.

A spokesman said: "This would be a violation of French sovereignty as well as a violation of maritime law and international law.

"Separately, as part of the measures put in place with the UK and the arrangements deployed at the local level, the interior ministry states that the number of crossings is down in 2026."

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