Politics · 3 August 2026
Retired navy commander criticises Reform UK's plan to use warships against small boats
Illustration: AI-generated for editorial context. Not photographic evidence.
Tom Sharpe told the BBC that expensive anti-aircraft ships are the wrong tool for picking up people in the Channel. Labour claimed on Monday that the party is recycling an old Conservative policy to distract from leader Nigel Farage's £5 million cryptocurrency scandal. Zia Yusuf, Reform's home affairs spokesman, argued the military could legally rescue those crossing and return them to France.
Reported by The Guardian · How we write briefs