THE government must end its militarised approach towards refugees and open safe routes for them to reach Britain, campaigners urged today following news that the Royal Navy is planning to step back from managing Channel crossings.

The Ministry of Defence has reportedly told ministers that it plans to relinquish its responsibility for dealing with migrants trying to get to Britain by boat on January 31.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson first ordered naval vessels to patrol the English Channel four months ago.

The number of migrant crossings has already doubled to more than 20,000 this year, despite the navy’s deployment and changes to Home Office immigration policies.

Refugee Council executive director for external affairs Tamsin Baxter said that using the military to repel refugees was “always doomed to fail.”

She told the Morning Star: “It is cruel, inhumane as well as expensive, impossible to implement in practice and a violation of maritime law.

“The government must accept that as long as there is war, persecution and violence, people feel forced to take dangerous journeys to seek safety.

“Ordinary men, women and children have to flee their home through no fault of their own with the odds stacked against them, but they struggle on to survive.”

Ms Baxter said the government “must change its approach and instead of seeking to punish or push away people seeking safety, they must create and commit to safe routes.”

“We need to immediately start having a grown-up conversation with France and the EU about sharing responsibility,” she added.

“And we need a fair and humane asylum system for those who arrive here.”

Care4Calais founder Clare Moseley told the Star: “The government has shut off official routes for refugees to claim asylum in the UK, driving people into the hands of people-smugglers and delivering record-high numbers of dangerous small boat crossings.

“We shouldn’t need the Royal Navy to save lives. We can do so by screening and providing people with visas for safe passage, similar to those given to Ukrainians, for those who have a viable asylum claim.

“This would put people-smugglers out of business, remove all need for refugees to make dangerous boat crossings and end the chaos in the Channel.”

Migrant Voice director Nazek Ramadan warned that an end to the navy’s involvement would not deter people from crossing as there are “no safe and legal routes for people to take.”

She told the Star: “Any action short of creating safe routes means that people will carry on dying at sea.

“We need meaningful action from this government to create a compassionate migration system that does not leave people stranded and in danger.”

Government sources said the navy was proposing to hand back control to Border Force “unless there are ministerial actions.”

PCS vowed to continue to campaign for “an asylum system based on humanity, not hostility,” and for a “much-improved working environment” for its members in the Home Office and Border Force.

The civil servants’ union has previously taken legal action to prevent “unlawful and dangerous” pushback manoeuvres.

PCS head of bargaining Paul O’Connor told the Star: “The military has clearly concluded that we were right all along.

“There are no circumstances in which the pushback operation can be carried out safely in the English Channel.

“However, handing the responsibility to the Home Office is pointless and will not change the position.

“Our members in the Home Office need the time, space and resources to do their jobs effectively, free from political pressure and interference.

“The hostile environment created by the government for refugees is not conducive to that.”

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper hit out at the government’s failure to protect lives and condemned ministers for “repeatedly [chasing] headlines rather than doing the hard work to tackle the problem.”

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said that the arrangements had always been planned to run until January 2023, at which point they would be reviewed.