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UK warship could target people smugglers in Mediterranean UK warship will be used to 'board, seize and divert' refugee boats
(about 1 hour later)
A Royal Navy warship is being offered to the EU in the fight against people smugglers in the Mediterranean Sea as the operation to target criminal gangs is stepped up. A Royal Navy frigate is to be sent to take part in a blockade-style naval operation aimed at “boarding, seizing and diverting” refugee boats in the Mediterranean, the Ministry of Defence has said.
HMS Richmond could be sent to the waters of the coast of Libya to stop human traffickers who are risking the lives of refugees by taking them on the perilous journey to Europe by boat. The British warship HMS Richmond is to take part in a “more aggressive” phase two of a European Union naval operation operating off the coast of Libya aimed at ending the people-smuggling trade across the Mediterranean.
More than 2,000 people have died trying to make the crossing so far this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration, and the defence secretary, Michael Fallon, has said the crisis must be tackled “at source”. British defence and foreign ministers gave their informal approval to the EU plan at meetings in Brussels last week, after being told by the Italian admiral in charge of the naval force that 16 boats used by the smugglers could have been seized or destroyed in recent weeks if the new phase had been in force.
HMS Enterprise is already stationed in the Mediterranean and the offer of another frigate to go after criminals will be officially made at an EU force generation conference on Wednesday. HMS Richmond, which has surveillance technology enabling it to operate across a wide area, is likely to be sent to the waters off Libya, where it will be stationed at least 12 miles off the coast. Although it will be able to rescue refugees it comes across, the Ministry of Defence said its primary role will be to board and seize vessels in the southern Mediterranean.
While HMS Richmond, which has a special surveillance system allowing it to cover vast areas, will be able to help in search and rescue missions, its primary role will be to board and seize vessels in the southern Mediterranean, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. It is presumed that it will be taking part in an operation designed to deter and divert the smugglers’ boats from reaching European shores. HMS Enterprise, a small survey ship, has been involved in the first phase of the operation gathering intelligence and tracking the movement of the refugee boats used by the smugglers across the sea.
Fallon said: “The vital work of HMS Bulwark, HMS Enterprise and our Merlin helicopters shows the UK’s commitment to tackling the refugee crisis at source. The home secretary, Theresa May, is to update the Commons on Wednesday on the British approach taken at the EU’s interior ministers meeting on Monday, when the UK opted out of plans to relocate 160,000 refugees in Europe. She will also tell MPs on the latest progress on preparations to settle 4,000 Syrian refugees in Britain.
“The Royal Navy has rescued thousands of people from peril but we’ve been clear we have to tackle the gangs behind this, which is why it’s important the mission moves to the next phase. The Royal Navy frigate is the first British contribution to an EU naval “force generation” conference being held on Wednesday. It is currently unclear what exactly the warships will be expected to do when they board a refugee boat but the rules of engagement for this more aggressive phase are currently being drawn up.
Related: UK Mediterranean mission to get information on smugglers, says ministerRelated: UK Mediterranean mission to get information on smugglers, says minister
“We will not stand by and let this smuggling trade escalate; we will confront this criminal activity which risks the lives of innocent people every day.” The European naval operation is modelled on the EU’s only other joint naval force which was used to blockade the pirates operating off the Somali coast.
HMS Enterprise was sent to replace HMS Bulwark, which saved 3,000 lives in the Mediterranean, in July as the EU’s naval operation began to move towards a focus on tackling smugglers. An EU naval force statement on Monday said: “This important transition will enable the EU naval operation against human smugglers and traffickers in the Mediterranean to conduct boarding, search, seizure and diversion on the high seas of vessels suspected of being used for human smuggling or trafficking, within international law.”
Last month, the ship was involved in what the MoD described as the largest operation to take place in a single day of the mission. When more than 20 vessels with migrants and refugees on board issued distress calls HMS Enterprise was able to take on board 453 of the 4,400 saved off the coast of Libya, as teams from several other European countries also helped with the rescue. The defence secretary, Michael Fallon, said of the decision to send HMS Richmond: “The vital work of HMS Bulwark, HMS Enterprise and our Merlin helicopters shows the UK’s commitment to tackling the refugee crisis at source.
The former Labour security minister Lord West, a former senior Royal Navy officer,, questioned the wisdom of the latest move. “The Royal Navy has rescued thousands of people from peril but we’ve been clear we have to tackle the gangs behind this, which is why it’s important the mission moves to the next phase.”
“I’m not at all clear exactly what their trying to do, it sounds slightly a bit of a mess,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “What we’re doing at the moment by just rescuing people in international waters is we’ve become part of the package being sold by people smugglers to get people to Europe. HMS Richmond is being sent to join the Mediterranean anti-smugglers operation for an initial two months, the immigration minister, James Brokenshire has told peers.
“The only thing [HMS Richmond] has got that others haven’t is a thing called ScanEagle, which is a drone which was originally used for hunting for fish and things. It is very useful for the wider area coverage but I do believe we should be much more aggressive in terms of sealing the coast.” He said that those smugglers found on board boats intercepted by the Royal Navy warship would be taken to the nearest European port to face prosecution.
The minister said that the third phase of the EU naval operation, which involves going after the boats in waters off the immediate coast of Libya, would need the backing of the Libyan authorities and a United Nations resolution.