- Nigel Farage has rowed back on statements made by Reform UK treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick, who suggested that a Reform government would permit the Royal Marines to use lethal force against migrants crossing the English Channel without permission.
- Farage clarified that lethal force would not be used routinely and would only be authorised if armed forces were fired at by criminal gangs while intercepting boats and returning them to France.
- Defence minister Luke Pollard condemned the proposal as illegal and abhorrent to British military values, emphasising that UK armed forces are forbidden from obeying illegal orders or shooting unarmed civilians.
- Prime minister Andy Burnham and Labour chair Bridget Phillipson dismissed the suggestion, with Burnham pointing out that small boat crossings have fallen considerably compared to when Jenrick was immigration minister.
- The controversy follows widespread criticism of Reform UK's wider policy announcement to suspend Britain's asylum system for five years and deport pending applicants, which campaigners branded profoundly un-British.
IN FULL
