Government blows £20million on deploying Royal Navy to halt Channel small boats crisis

MINISTERS have blown a huge £20million deploying the Royal Navy to try and halt the growing Channel small boats crisis.

Taxpayers have stumped up £87,097 daily, £535 a migrant, under Operation Isotrope.

Navy vessels were first deployed to assist Border Force last April by ex-PM Boris Johnson, who said it would mean “no boat makes it to the UK undetected”.

But a record 45,756 migrants reached Britain by small boat last year — of which 38,881 came after the Navy were on patrol.

A FOI request by Trending In The News on Sunday found it had cost the MoD £20.8million so far — with the final bill, when operations revert to the Home Office at the end of the month, set to rise further.

Dover MP Natalie Elphicke said: “This huge cost yet again underlines the importance of bringing this small boats crisis to an end.”

“I hope we see real progress on this in the upcoming summit between the Prime Minister and President Macron.”

Lucy Moreton, of the Borders, Immigration and Customs Union, said: “We knew from December 2018 that irregular migration was here to stay. We knew from January 2022 that we would see a projected 60,000 migrants.

“It was known, but it was not planned for, and that is what has caused the waste of money.”

A Government statement said: “The continued rise in dangerous Channel crossings, driven by global migration and organised crime, is putting an unprecedented strain on our asylum system and lives at risk.

“That is why we will do whatever it takes to control our borders and ensure the only people who come here do so through safe and legal routes.

“Under military primacy, improvements have been made to intercept more unsafe small boats before they reach the UK.

“We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to stop the boats and break the evil people smugglers’ business model.”