Priti Patel plan for Navy to tackle Channel migrants ‘has failed before it started’, say MPs

Priti Patel's plan to put the military in charge of tackling Channel migrants has "failed before it has started" because of public bickering between ministers and departments, MPs have warned.

MPs on the defence committee said the public disagreement between "two great offices of state" – the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Home Office – over the role of the Navy was "deeply unedifying" and undermined trust in the Government's ability to solve the Channel migrant crisis.

"If one of the objectives is to restore public confidence, then this disagreement has done the opposite and the operation has failed before it has even started," said the MPs.

"We question whether announcing the policy before agreeing the detail was a wise move or rather one born of desperation. We hope that lessons will be learned from this experience."

The military takeover was trailed nearly two months ago after last year's tripling in the number of migrants crossing the Channel, which rose from 8,400 to 28,400.

However, the policy has yet to be formally unveiled and has been bedevilled by friction between the Home Office and the MoD over whether the Navy will be involved in the controversial "pushback" tactics against migrant boats.

The MPs noted that defence ministers' statements that the Navy would not be involved were challenged by Ms Patel, who said its operational role had yet to be agreed. This resulted in a tweet from the MoD press office that the Royal Navy and marines "will not be using 'pushback' tactics."

The defence committee warned that the military's new role, called Operation Isotrope, was an "ill-defined policy, prematurely announced" before details had been finalised, adding that "the best case scenario for the Royal Navy is that it will leave with its reputation unharmed".

It said adding responsibility for Channel migrants without an increase in budget would take scarce resources from an "already overstretched" MoD.

The committee said it was "seriously concerned by the lack of a clear end point for this operation", adding: "The MoD has its own policy failings which it needs to remedy – it should not be made responsible for the failings of other Government departments as well."

It called on the Home Office and MoD to agree "realistic indicators of success" and explain them to Parliament.

"Furthermore, we recommend that an agreed date for the operation to be handed over to the Border Force is published, with the option of extension if so required," the report said. "This cannot be an open-ended deployment, occupying scarce Royal Naval vessels and personnel."