Refugees: Deaths in Mediterranean and Aegean Seas

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

Monday 11th April 2016 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, my noble friend is quite right: the Royal Navy is providing coastguard services as well as intelligence on illegal people traffickers for FRONTEX and has deployed a vessel with helicopter support as well as three Border Force assets. It is also important that NATO and the EU work together.

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

My Lords, are we prepared for a new focus on Libya, with the new chaos that may arise there as the Aegean route is blocked? What efforts are being made to publicise the new deal between the EU and Turkey as a possible means of deterring people who would risk their lives?

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, the noble Lord mentioned the work relating to Libya. I think that we are in phase 2A of Operation Sophia, which involves conducting operations on the high seas against smuggling vessels operating outside Libyan territories. So far, 98 smuggling vessels have been destroyed, 61 suspected smugglers have been arrested and more than 11,500 people have been rescued.