The former director general of the border force warned a defence committee hearing this morning that ‘The navy can’t prioritise saving life and stopping migrants at the same time’.

Sir Charles Montgomery, who is also a retired royal navy officer, made the comments during an evidence session on the use of the military in countering migrant crossings in the Channel, known as “Operation Isotrope”.

Montgomery claimed that if the UK wanted migrants to cross the Channel on their terms, “that leaves you with one answer.

“If it is to stop migrants… you come up with a different answer. If it is to save life, you come up with a different answer.”