Former Australian PM calls UK migrant arrivals a ‘peaceful invasion’
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has sparked controversy by suggesting that the United Kingdom should adopt stringent measures similar to those implemented in Australia to manage migrant arrivals via boat. Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, Abbott described the ongoing Channel crossings as a “peaceful invasion” and recommended a series of strict interventions.
Abbott, whose Liberal government introduced Operation Sovereign Borders in 2013 to deter asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat, urged the UK to consider similar approaches. “Whether it’s establishing processing centres in British dependent territories, or holding people on a mothership in the English Channel before sending them in unsinkable life rafts back to France in the middle of the night, as we did in Java,” he said. He also proposed “vigorous mafia-busting operations” in northern France to prevent migrant smuggling.
Migration via the English Channel has become a major political issue in the UK, with 37,000 arrivals last year and over 22,000 in the first half of 2025, according to the Migration Observatory. Abbott argued that countries have the sovereign right to defend their borders against what he described as acts of unfriendly facilitation of illegal migration.
The former PM’s remarks align with his long-standing hardline approach to border security but have drawn criticism from human rights advocates, who describe them as extreme and potentially dangerous. Abbott spoke alongside Priti Patel, Britain’s former Home Secretary and current shadow secretary for foreign, commonwealth, and development affairs, who oversaw the controversial Rwanda deportation deal during her tenure.
The debate highlights rising tensions over migration in Europe and the UK, where public opinion remains deeply divided on the treatment of asylum seekers and the methods used to deter illegal crossings.
