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Channel migrants: Patel seeks immunity for Border Force if new tactics kill

Britain plans to use jet skis to send migrant boats back to France but only, the Home Office says, in strictly defined circumstances
Britain plans to use jet skis to send migrant boats back to France but only, the Home Office says, in strictly defined circumstances
DAN KITWOOD/GETTY IMAGES

Priti Patel wants to grant Border Force officers immunity from criminal prosecution if migrants die during new “turnback” operations in the Channel.

The home secretary has sanctioned the tactics under which Border Force jet skis will intercept small boats and redirect them back towards France.

The powers have prompted a significant backlash from opposition MPs, charities and immigration campaigners. France has said the tactics breach international law and that it will retaliate if they are used in the Channel.

The home secretary has been under pressure to tackle the record numbers of Channel crossings
The home secretary has been under pressure to tackle the record numbers of Channel crossings
NIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

It is an offence in UK law to violate international maritime legal obligations to rescue a person in distress at sea, with a maximum penalty of two years in jail. Relatives of someone who dies as a consequence of a Border Force officer breaching their obligations