Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether legal measures were introduced in the Nationality and Borders Act to enable law enforcement and Border Force to turn back small boats in the English Channel.

The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 includes legal measures to enable law enforcement agencies and Border Force to turn back small boats in the English Channel. However, the circumstances in which turnaround tactics may be deployed are limited due to the priority to maintain safety of life at sea.

Although the turnaround policy and procedures are currently withdrawn, the Government has not made any concessions as to the legality of the policy. There are no current plans for the turnaround tactic to be reintroduced under Defence primacy.