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EXCLUSIVE: Ministry of Defense is still calculating the cost of the nine-month operation that saw the crossings blow up The Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Tyne with its support vessel on patrol in the English Channel off Dover, Kent, in April 2022 (Gareth Fuller/PA) Figures released under freedom of information laws show that Operation Isotrope, which took place between April last year and the end of January, has a "currently recorded cost" of more than £29.7m.
Ministers, including former Home Secretary Priti Patel, had claimed that the naval patrols would have a "chilling" effect, but crossings reached new records during the period.
"They spent £30m of taxpayers' money and made big promises about what the Navy would do, despite being repeatedly warned it wouldn't work and the number of dangerous craft crossings has increased."
The Defense Ministry said the figure does not represent the full cost "because there are a number of financial lines that are still being captured."
The spending may come to light as Suella Braverman plans to deport migrants to Rwanda by the summer, while the Kigali government says it is "ready to absorb the thousands of people who will come from United United."
A Home Office source said "we are certainly working to get the flights off the ground before the summer", adding that the Home Secretary acknowledged the timing depended on ongoing legal battles.
In her first trip to the Central African country as Home Secretary, Braverman visited the facility being built on Saturday to house people deported from Britain.
The deal is part of the new Illegal Migration Bill, which aims to allow the UK to detain and deport migrants on small boats, regardless of their claims.
Ms Braverman admitted that the bill could violate international law and there are practical questions about whether there are enough places of detention and return arrangements to implement it.
The prime minister separately agreed to give France nearly £500m over three years to step up efforts to stop boats from leaving its north coast.
Clare Moseley, founder of Care4Calais, said: “Money continues to be spent on security and deterrence, but the number of small boat crossings continues to rise.
"It is time for the government to stop wasting money on anti-refugee policies and adopt the only solution that will end small boat crossings, bankrupt smugglers and save lives: granting safe travel visas to people in Calais who have viable asylum claims.”
Tim Naor Hilton, chief executive of the charity Refugee Action, called the government's approach "evil, inefficient and costly".
“His new anti-refugee bill will only add to the cost and cruelty and will not solve any of the problems with the asylum system,” he added.
In February 2022, Ms Patel told a parliamentary committee that the purpose of the naval patrols was "a clear shock and deterrent message" and refuted suggestions that increasingly organized rescue operations could encourage migrants. to use small boats.
The military has failed to adopt the Interior Ministry's "deterrence" goal, which is also the strategy behind the Rwanda deal, the new illegal immigration bill and other policies that have yet to reduce Channel crossings.
A representative of the Immigration Services Union, which represents Border Force personnel and the new Small Boat Operational Command, condemned the government's "reactionary" response to the crossings.
"Enormous sums have been spent responding to the crisis in the short term and trying to outsource the problem, rather than properly investing in UK systems to be able to make legal decisions within a reasonable time frame."
The PCS union, which represents Border Force and Coast Guard personnel, said the government should focus on Interior Ministry processes to expedite asylum claims "without political pressure or interference."
Secretary General Mark Serwotka added: "Instead of investing £30 million in deterrent measures that haven't worked, the government should invest in a safe passage visa scheme to allow refugees to enter the UK from safely and start your asylum application.
The number of migrants intercepted in small boats reached new records after Royal Navy patrols began last April, reaching 47,000 in the remainder of 2022, up from 34,000 in the same period a year earlier.
But the operation also saw the number of known "uncontrolled landings" of small boats that washed up on English shores fall by 82%.
The primacy of the Canal Patrols was returned to the Border Force on 31 January, after Rishi Sunak announced the creation of a new Small Craft Operational Command.
Defense Department personnel and resources continue to support the unit, along with the National Crime Agency and other agencies, but the new structure was expected to coordinate and provide better resources for intelligence, interdiction, prosecution and control of migrants. in small boats.
A government spokesman said: “Under military primacy, improvements have been made to intercept more dangerous ships before they reach the UK.
“We will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to stop the ships and end the evil business model of smugglers.”
Data: home office
PA wire
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