By Obinna Uballa
Britain’s Trade Secretary Peter Kyle has pushed back against United States President Donald Trump’s call for the country to use its armed forces to halt asylum seekers crossing the English Channel, insisting that border security is the responsibility of the UK Border Force.
Kyle, speaking on BBC Breakfast on Friday, said the Navy already has a working relationship with the Border Force but stressed that the military’s priority must remain national defence.
“We have the UK Border Force that is now established and has been reinforced and bolstered and has new powers under this government,” he said. “The Navy actually does have a working relationship with the UK Border Force, and the Navy can be called upon if needed. But what we really need at the moment is our military focused on those really key issues around the world directly relating to our national defence.”
Reports said Trump had floated the idea of military intervention during a press conference at Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Chequers residence, insisting that “decisive action” was needed. “You have people coming in, and I told the prime minister I would stop it. It doesn’t matter if you call out the military, it doesn’t matter what means you use,” Trump declared.
The debate comes as the government steps up efforts to toughen its asylum system. New Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has pledged to crack down on what she described as “vexatious, last-minute claims” used to delay deportations. Kyle said she was “straining at the bit” to make sure the government’s pilot one-in-one-out migrant return scheme was a success.
“We’re making sure we get as many people as don’t have the right to be here returned as swiftly as possible,” Kyle explained, adding there are “a lot of cases” moving through the courts. Pressed on targets, he said: “Our target is to make sure that everybody who comes to our shore and doesn’t have the right to stay is removed. We want people to see a system functioning so swiftly and efficiently that they are deterred from coming in the first place.”
To ease pressure on the asylum system, ministers have announced plans to use surplus military sites such as Scampton and Wethersfield for housing asylum seekers, cutting reliance on costly hotel accommodation, BBC reported.
Starmer has also unveiled proposals for international return hubs for failed asylum seekers, signalling a break from the previous Conservative government’s Rwanda deportation plan. The aim, officials say, is to streamline removals and lower costs.
