UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on 14 April that from today the Royal Navy is taking over operational command from Border Force in the English Channel. He also stated that £50m will be spent on new boats, aerial surveillance, and personnel.
The Royal Navy will be responsible for intercepting boats carrying migrants in the latest effort to tackle Britain’s migrant crisis in the Channel.
“These vile people smugglers are abusing the vulnerable and turning the Channel into a watery graveyard,” Boris Johnson said.
He went on to say: “To identify, intercept and investigate these boats, from today the Royal Navy will take over operational command from Border Force in the Channel, taking primacy for our operational response at sea in line with many of our international partners with the aim that no boat makes it to the UK undetected.”
