Britain’s Reform UK party says it would launch the “largest military operation in the English Channel since World War II” by deploying the Royal Navy to prevent illegal immigrant boats from reaching the UK from France if it comes to power, according to a policy proposal unveiled today.

Under the plan, titled “Operation Fortress,” the Royal Navy would be tasked with intercepting boats carrying migrants across the Channel and escorting them back to the French coast.

The proposal comes as Nigel Farage‘s anti-immigration party has recently seen its polling lead narrow, with the next UK general election not expected before 2029.

At the same time, the party is facing parliamentary and police investigations into its finances, particularly over allegedly undeclared donations received by Nigel Farage. Parliament’s standards committee also confirmed today that it has opened an investigation into the party’s deputy leader and MP, Richard Tice.

Like other figures on the European right, Reform UK has also condemned the recent large-scale influx of illegal immigrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta last week. One of the party’s senior officials, Zia Yusuf, traveled there over the weekend.

“This is a last resort, but we’ve now reached that point,” Yusuf told the BBC, arguing that the latest crossing figures are “absolutely colossal” and that there is “nothing to suggest that the problem is coming to an end.”

The governing Labour Party immediately rejected the proposal, accusing Reform UK of issuing a “reheated old announcement in a desperate attempt to divert attention from its recent corruption scandals.”

As of July 31, 14,128 people had arrived in the United Kingdom by small boats since the beginning of 2026, a 42% decrease compared with the same period last year.

However, on July 29, an astonishing new single-day record was set, with 752 people arriving after crossing the Channel.

A new agreement aimed at preventing illegal Channel crossings was reached between Paris and London in April. The deal includes a British financial contribution to France’s efforts to strengthen border controls and help protect the UK’s borders.