The Royal Navy has ended its role as the official interceptor of small boats carrying illegal immigrants across the English Channel and handed the responsibility back to the Home Office and the UK Border Force.
The end of Operation Isotrope comes as the Refugee Council published a report (pdf) that claimed 6 out of 10 immigrants who crossed in 2022 would be recognised as having the right to asylum if their applications were processed.
Last month a new small boats operational command (SBOC) was created to coordinate Britain’s response and bring together civilian and military personnel and the National Crime Agency.
It will be led by Duncan Capps, a former major general in the British Army who joined the Border Force in December after two years as commandant of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst….