Sajid Javid ‘borrowing’ a Navy ship to catch migrants in the English Channel las left England with just one vessel to patrol 80,000 square miles of fishing waters.

Currently two Royal Navy River class ships, HMS Mersey and HMS Tyne, make up the Fishery Protection Squadron (FPS), which detects foreign trawlers illegally fishing in our waters.

But with Brexit just three months away, the Home Secretary has ‘borrowed’ HMS Mersey at a reported cost of £20,000 a day, to patrol the Dover straits, for up to 30 days.

Public Accounts Committee chair Meg Hillier branded the move “an incredibly expensive sledgehammer to crack a nut.”

And with the Ministry of Defence’s promise of five new Navy ships for the FPS not due until 2020, it leaves just one ship, HMS Tyne, covering the entire of England’s fishing waters.

Budget cuts have already seen the FPS slash its patrolling hours from 16,000 hours per month in 2010 to just 2,000 hours last year.

The number of vessels boarded fell from 1,399 in 2010-11 to 278 in 2016-17.

And convictions or penalties following boardings dropped from 29 to just six in the same period.

Catherine Stihler, Labour MEP and Best for Britain champion, said: “The UK’s patrol vessels play a key role in protecting our fisheries ensure a fast response to any incidents.

“Using a ship to instead patrol for migrants will leave tens of thousands of square miles of fishing waters less protected, with the Brexit deadline just weeks away.

“The Home Secretary should be focusing on much better cooperation with the French authorities, and nations across the EU, to create safe and legal routes for those seeking asylum. Nobody should feel they have no option but to risk their lives by crossing the channel in this way.

“Unfortunately, the UK Government’s calamitous Brexit strategy has seriously damaged the relationship with our European allies, and the best way to mend that is by remaining in the EU through a people’s vote.”

In 2017, Lord West, the former First Sea Lord, warned the decline in patrols would encourage foreign fishermen to ignore attempts by Britain to secure its fishing waters after Brexit.

He told the Times: “Britain will become a laughing stock if we apply rules but cannot enforce them.”

The FPS currently has three patrol vessels, two of which are in normally on duty in English waters.

Giving evidence to Parliament last month (DEC), Phil Haslam, director of operations at the Marine Management Organisation, said there was an “increased risk across the piece” of foreign vessels trying to fish illegally in English waters.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “I can confirm that HMS Mersey will deploy to the Dover Straits to assist the UK Border Force and French authorities with their response to migrant crossings.

“The professionalism of the Royal Navy means the crew have been able to immediately divert from routine operations to help prevent migrants from making the dangerous journey across the Channel.”

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been approached for comment.

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