Ex-Navy Chief Wants Blockade Of Libyan Coast

A former head of the Royal Navy has called for a blockade of the Libyan coast to stop people smugglers from trafficking people to Europe.

Lord West, ex-First Sealord and Chief of Naval Staff, said such a measure would require 10 Navy frigates and destroyers, along with helicopters, drones and other intelligence and surveillance capability.

He told Sky News that the plan outlined by Prime Minister David Cameron to send one warship to the area was "not really the way to go about things".

"At long last, we seem to be realising that it's no good having ships in the Mediterranean picking up refugees before they drown because that actually is causing the problem to be worse.

"I know from the people smugglers in southern Nigeria that what they say to people is: 'Give us your $2,000, we'll get you across the Sahara, put you on a boat, here is a number, phone that on your mobile - that's the Italian coastguard. You'll be picked up by a British ship and taken to Europe'.

"What I would do, rather than encouraging them to come to sea and drown, would be to blockade the coast properly."

Lord West said this "could have been done some months ago" with the agreement of LIbyan government officials.

"We could have paid them lots of money to establish a position under United Nations control with NGOs, where we could immediately, in territorial seas, stop these boats, sink them, maybe capture the odd people-smuggler because you're nearer the root of it, and put the people in camps, process them and those who deserve to, come back and those who don't, stop."

His words came after Prime Minister Mr Cameron confirmed the Royal Navy is preparing to deploy another warship to the Mediterranean.

A training team will also be sent to Libya to help the country's coastguard.

Already this week the UK has sent four military planners to the Rome headquarters of the European Union's Operation Sophia mission to tackle people-trafficking in the central Mediterranean.

Mr Cameron said: "(Libya), because of the state that it is in, is a danger to all of us - danger in terms of the migration flows that are going through Libya, a danger because of the people-smuggling gangs that are active in Libya, and a danger because there are real signs that Daesh is gaining a foothold in Libya.

"So clearly we have an interest in doing what we can to support the new government, to help it to grow, to help it have the ability to control that country."

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "I hope that the Royal Naval vessels will see also one of their very important duties as the saving of lives of desperate people fleeing across the Mediterranean.

"I'm worried about mission creep into Libya of course."

The Italian coastguard says around 4,000 people have been rescued from the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, with some 20 bodies were spotted in the sea.

A Libyan navy spokesman said 766 migrants were also rescued by the Libyan coastguard - 550 were found near the coastal city of Sabratha and 216 off Zwara.

Around 150,000 migrants travelled from Libya to Italy by boat last year and, so far this year, more than 37,000 people have been intercepted in the Mediterranean and taken to Italian ports. Hundreds are believed to have died after their overloaded vessels sank or capsized.