Liz Truss has said she is perplexed that the Royal Navy would refuse to carry out orders from ministers if those orders were unlawful.
The UK’s shortest-serving prime minister argued that naval forces should be deployed to “turn around” small boats carrying asylum seekers across the English Channel from France. She expressed frustration that the Navy would decline to act if such orders breached the law.
In remarks that raised eyebrows, Truss also suggested that the situation could be traced back to changes made under Tony Blair, despite the former Labour leader having left office nearly two decades ago.
Liz Truss Criticises Navy Stance on Channel Migrant Boats
Speaking on a Daily Telegraph podcast, Truss said ministers were frequently told that tougher action was needed to stop irregular migration via small boats.
She said: “Lots of people say we need to turn around the boats in the Channel to stop illegal immigration.”
Truss then outlined what she claimed would happen if such an order were issued at the highest level of government. “As a government minister, if you ordered – even as prime minister – if you ordered the Navy to do that, they would just say ‘we’re not doing that because it’s illegal’.”
Truss Blames Civil Service and Tony Blair Reforms
The former prime minister went on to criticise the civil service, arguing it now holds too much influence over decisions traditionally made by elected officials.
“So the civil service now decides what’s legal and what’s not legal and can essentially refuse to do what government ministers say under the system that was set up under Tony Blair,” she said.
However, current legislation governing the armed forces makes clear that military personnel are only required to follow lawful orders.
Armed Forces Act Sets Clear Legal Limits
Under the Armed Forces Act 2006, any command issued to members of the military “must be lawful”.
The legislation states: “An order to do something which would amount to a crime, for example, would not be lawful.”
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The law underlines the principle that service personnel cannot be compelled to carry out actions that would breach domestic or international law, regardless of political pressure.
