Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the legal implications of escorting illegal migrant ships to their previous country in the event that those ships do not land on UK shores.
These powers allow Border Force to make wider use of new operational techniques in development, enabling vessels used by illegal migrants to be stopped from heading towards the UK shore.
In addition, if intercepted in UK seas, these new powers will enable a migrant vessel to be stopped in international waters as well and diverted away from UK seas with the intention of encouraging the vessels to return to the country their journey started in.
Any action taken by officers in the purported use of these new maritime powers must be in accordance with the provisions of the Human Rights Act. All operational officers receive relevant training before being able to exercise their duties and powers and must in any event exercise those powers in accordance with the Human Rights Act.