Is it time for gunboat diplomacy to help stop the people smugglers?

Published

3 months ago

August 25, 2025

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Curbing the power of judges in asylum cases to tackle the migrant hotel crisis is a typical Keir Starmer response to a problem.

The former director of public prosecutions would appear to see overhauling court procedures and the legal process as the answer to any tricky situation.

Yes, the proposed fast-track asylum appeals process is fine as far as it goes. But for a government confronted with a massive migrant crisis, opponents claim it’s mere tinkering.

And welcome and worthy as it is, it isn’t going to “smash the gangs”, stop the boats or act as a powerful deterrent to the people smugglers plying their trade in the Channel.

As protests outside migrant hotels grow noisier and clashes between rival demonstrators become potentially violent, do we hear this cry from the voters: “What do we want? An independent commission of professional adjudicators! When do we want it? As soon as legislative time allows!”

Of course not.

Even those who don’t agree with Nigel Farage’s apparent indifference – in his Times interview this weekend, to asylum seekers sent back to Afghanistan being killed or tortured by the Taliban – are demanding bolder and more radical measures from the government.

And those who tire of the shadow home secretary Chris Philp’s constant criticisms of the government would probably accept that attempts to stop the boats in the Channel are not just useless but farcical.

On a visit to the Channel earlier this month, Mr Philp said: “There’s a boat full of illegal immigrants crossing right in front of me. The French warship is escorting it and making no attempt at all to stop it.”

Later, assessing his trip, Mr Philp said: “The people-smuggling conveyor belt is now a round trip, paid for by British taxpayers.

“We were in the middle of the Channel, just on the UK side of the border, witnessing the French handing over two boatloads of illegal migrants, Border Force picking them out, providing a taxi service back to the UK.”

So is Border Force fit for purpose? The Sunday Express reports that Martin Hewitt, Labour’s Border Security Commander, is the highest-paid civil servant in the Home Office, with a salary of £200,000, more than the prime minister.

Some top officials have also received bonuses.

Philip Douglas, director general of the Border Force, received bonuses of up to £15,000 in 2024-25 on top of his £140,000-£145,000 salary.

Why, given the force’s lamentable performance?

Given that Border Force clearly cannot cope with the small boat crossings, is it time to bring in the Royal Navy and some gunboat diplomacy, since the French government clearly is not helping to stop the boats?

It’s happened before, after all.

In January 2022, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the Royal Navy would take command of counter-migration operations in the Channel to deter migrant crossings and intercept boats before they reached British shores.

It was called Operation Isotrope.

But after squabbling between the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the mayor of Calais attacking a “declaration of maritime war”, Rishi Sunak’s government handed control back to the Home Office.

Is it time for a rethink? Earlier this month, the Labour peer Lord Glasman, founder of the socially conservative Blue Labour group, urged the PM to use the Navy and drones in the Channel to stop small boat crossings.

In May, however, armed forces minister Luke Pollard slapped down the former Reform UK, now independent, MP Rupert Lowe in the Commons when he asked what assessment had been made of the Navy’s capacity to intercept small boats.

“Defence assets are procured for defence tasks,” Mr Pollard said, dismissively.

The Navy’s primary role, he added, was to safeguard maritime security, including monitoring and shadowing foreign warships in British waters.

But at the very least, the Royal Navy could provide better surveillance, since Border Force seems to be failing in that role, and just the sight of naval vessels in the Channel could be a deterrent.

Sir Keir has put his faith in his “one in, one out” deportation deal with French President Emmanuel Macron and now in his asylum appeals shake-up.

The government’s opponents claim neither will be an effective deterrent, however.

Farage is proposing “mass deportation” of hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers who come to the UK on small boats. Labour says he’s “plucking numbers out of the air”.

But with the PM’s and Labour’s poll numbers tanking as the latest official figures confirm the numbers of migrants and small boat crossings are increasing at a shocking rate, is it now time for a different approach?

Another Starmer U-turn, given the MoD’s hostility to the Navy’s involvement up to now? Gunboats, anyone?

UK

UK ‘moving at glacial pace’ on national plan for defending foreign attack, say MPs

Published

7 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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UK 'moving at glacial pace' on national plan for defending foreign attack, say MPs

The UK lacks a national plan to defend itself from attack and is moving at a “glacial” pace to fix the problem despite threats from Russia and China, a report by MPs has warned.

With the whole country needing to understand what it means to be ready for war, the Defence Select Committee also said it had seen no sign of a promised “national conversation on defence and security” that was launched by Sir Keir Starmer in June.

Sky News and other journalists were even blocked on Monday from interviewing sailors aboard HMS Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, in direct contrast to the prime minister’s stated aim of greater engagement.

Public needs to know ‘what to expect’ from war

“We have repeatedly heard concerns about the UK’s ability to defend itself from attack,” said Labour MP Tan Dhesi, chair of the committee.

“Government must be willing to grasp the nettle and prioritise homeland defence and resilience.

“In achieving this, government cannot shy away from direct engagement with the public.

“Wars aren’t won just by generals, but by the whole of the population getting behind the Armed Forces and playing our part.

“There needs to be a co-ordinated effort to communicate with the public on the level of threat we face and what to expect in the event of conflict.”

‘The Wargame’ made real?

The findings of the report support a podcast series by Sky News and Tortoise Media called The Wargame – released in June.

It simulated a Russian attack on the UK and played out what the impact might be for the country in the absence of a credible, resourced and rehearsed national defence plan – something Britain maintained rigorously during the Cold War.

Sky News first revealed in April 2024 that the previous government no longer had such a plan, though work was under way to develop one.

Report’s assessment of war-readiness

The Defence Select Committee report – based on a nearly year-long inquiry – found: “The UK lacks a plan for defending the homeland and overseas territories with little progress on the Home Defence Programme.”

It said this meant the government was failing to meet a fundamental commitment to the NATO alliance – the Article 3 requirement to maintain the “capacity to resist armed attack”.

The report quoted Luke Pollard, a defence minister, acknowledging that “we have been very clear that we are not satisfied with Article 3 in the UK”.

Read more: Is the Ajax any good?

Yet the MPs’ report added: “Despite this recognition from government… measures to remediate seem to be moving at a glacial pace.”

It said: “Cross-government working on homeland defence and resilience is nowhere near where it needs to be. The government has said repeatedly that we are in an era of new threat, yet decision-making is slow and opaque.”

The rebuke from the MPs was published as John Healey, the defence secretary, prepares to announce that 13 sites across the UK have been identified as possible locations for at least six new weapons factories.

“This is a new era of threat,” he will say at a speech in Westminster later.

“We are making defence an engine for growth, unambiguously backing British jobs and British skills as we make the UK better ready to fight and better able to deter future conflicts.

“This is the path that delivers national and economic security.”

Industry will be invited to submit proposals to produce ammunition and explosives, with the Ministry of Defence saying it hopes work on the first factory will begin next year.

UK

Ultra-processed foods leading cause of ‘chronic disease pandemic’, say experts

Published

7 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Ultra-processed foods leading cause of 'chronic disease pandemic', say experts

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are a leading cause of a “chronic disease pandemic” linked to worsening diets, experts have warned.

UPFs include items such as processed meats, some ready meals and cereals, ice cream, crisps, biscuits, mass-produced bread and fizzy drinks.

They often contain a high level of saturated fat, salt and sugar – as well as additives such as sweeteners and preservatives.

UPFs leave less room for more nutritious foods and are also believed to negatively affect gut health.

Forty-three scientists and researchers have now sounded the alarm and accused food companies of putting “profitability above all else”.

Writing in The Lancet, they said the firms’ economic and political power is growing and “the global public health response is still nascent, akin to where the tobacco control movement was decades ago”.

They warned that while some countries have brought in controls on UPFs, policy is lagging due to “co-ordinated efforts of the industry to skew decision-making, frame policy debates in their interest, and manufacture the appearance of scientific doubt”.

Professor Chris Van Tulleken, from University College London, one of the authors, said obesity and diet-related disease had increased in line with a “three-decade history of reformulation by the food industry”.

“This is not a product level discussion. The entire diet is being ultra-processed,” he warned.

However, several experts not involved with the article urged more research, cautioning that existing studies had shown a link with poor health and UPFs but not established causation.

Kate Halliwell, chief scientific officer at the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which represents the industry, said companies had made a “series of changes over many years to make the food and drink we all buy healthier, in line with government guidelines”.

She said FDF-member products now contained a third less salt and sugar and a quarter fewer calories than in 2015.

Previous studies cited by the British Heart Foundation have linked UPFs to a greater risk of heart disease, stroke, and early death.

A 2023 meta analysis in the PubMed journal said evidence suggested an association between UPF intake “and the risk of overall and several cancers, including colorectal, breast and pancreatic cancer”.

Get cancer symptoms checked, charity urges

It comes as Cancer Research UK warned too many Britons are putting off getting potential symptoms checked.

A poll for the charity suggested the top reasons people delay getting potential signs of cancer checked is because of a lack of GP appointments, or thinking their symptoms might not be serious.

More than half (53%) of the 6,844 surveyed said they were put off as they believed getting seen would be difficult, while 47% said they actually had found it difficult to get an appointment.

Some 44% put it off as they though the symptom wasn’t serious, 41% believed they could manage things themselves, and 40% didn’t want to be seen as making a fuss.

Cancer Research UK said it had now trained Tesco pharmacists to spot possible cancer signs – and that people can speak to them in private if they needed.

The pharmacists will be able to give advice on next steps and whether a GP appointment is recommended.

UK

Scotland secure men’s World Cup spot for first time since 1998 after beating Denmark

Published

10 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Scotland secure men's World Cup spot for first time since 1998 after beating Denmark

Scotland secured a place at the men’s World Cup for the first time since 1998 as stoppage-time goals by Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean secured a thrilling 4-2 win over Denmark at Hampden Park.

Scott McTominay’s spectacular third-minute bicycle kick had given the hosts a half-time lead.

Rasmus Hojlund equalised for the Danes in the 57th minute shortly before Rasmus Kristensen was sent off, but Lawrence Shankland restored Scotland’s advantage.

When Patrick Dorgu brought Denmark level again with nine minutes remaining, it seemed they would claim the point needed to top the group and book their place at next year’s tournament in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

However, Tierney fired an unstoppable shot past Kasper Schmeichel in the third minute of stoppage time

And then, with the Denmark goalkeeper up in attack at the other end of the pitch, McLean hit a long-range effort from his own half to spark delirious scenes.

The victory saw Scotland top Group C and secure automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

Head coach Steve Clarke had already led his country to back-to-back European Championships.

He told the BBC: “Scott McTominay scored the best overhead kick I’ve ever seen, and it might not have been the best goal of the night!”

Scotland captain Andy Robertson dedicated the victory to his former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota, who died earlier this year in a car accident.

He told the BBC: “We certainly put the country through it, but I’m sure it will be worth it.”

“I couldn’t get my mate Diogo Jota out of my head today,” he added. We spoke so much together about the World Cup. When he missed out in Qatar through injury and I missed out when Scotland never went.

“We always discussed what it would be like going to this World Cup. I know he’ll be somewhere smiling over me tonight.”

The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place in Washington on 5 December.