“The Navy is being dragged into an operation it should never have been involved in. This is not their territory – this is the territory of the Home Office, the Coast Guard, the Border Force,” he said. “Secondly, our Royal Navy is absolutely overstretched at this critical time. It prevents a whole host of other tasks.” Since the policy was announced, Admiral Sir Antony David Radakin, a former First Sea Lord, has taken over as Chief of the Defense Staff. John Spellar, former Labor and Armed Forces Secretary, said: “There was never a clear rationale for what role they would have. They ended up providing a super taxi service that they had to do according to the age-old laws of the sea to save lives. It was a completely wrong intervention.” Tony Smith, former director-general of the Border Force, said he would prefer the Army to take a role, using its logistical capabilities to build processing centres. “I can’t see how the Navy was going to do much more than the Border Force apart from having bigger ships and more assets,” he added. “I would say the Border Force should maintain control, with the Navy assisting them.” MoD sources suggested the Navy would continue to patrol the Channel as it had done before Operation Isotope and could be on call if needed. A source said it had always been the case that the business would be reviewed, with January 31, a year after it started, being written as the end date.
