Nigel Farage today repeated his claim that a Reform UK government would stop small boats crossing the Channel 'within a fortnight'.The Reform leader reiterated the pledge as he unveiled his party's 'Operation Fortress' plan to deploy the Royal Navy to return Channel migrants.Under the 'return and rescue' proposal, the Royal Navy would intercept every vessel carrying illegal migrants to the UK and return all those on board to their country of departure.Mr Farage compared the plan to how Australia has previously used military vessels to tow migrant boats back to Indonesia.'I am entirely confident that under a Reform government, within a fortnight, there would be no more boats,' he told a press conference in Westminster.Both Mr Farage and Zia Yusuf, Reform's home affairs spokesman, defended the plans amid questions about the legality of such a scheme and the likely cost to taxpayers.They Reform leader also insisted there would be 'big upsides' to France, despite suggestions that Paris would simply refuse to accept migrants returned to the country's northern shores.Mr Farage pointed to how Britain is currently on track to hand France more than £1billion to stop small boat migrants. Nigel Farage today insisted Reform UK's 'Operation Fortress' plan to deploy the Royal Navy to return Channel migrants is in keeping with international law A group of migrants board a small boat off the coast of Equihen-Plage in France during an attempt to cross the Channel Mr Farage and Zia Yusuf, Reform's home affairs spokesman, defended the proposal amid questions about its legality and likely cost to taxpayers'Operation Fortress will be a combined military operation,' Mr Farage said, as he set out his party's plans.'It will save lives, it will help the French in fulfilling their job of stopping the boats and it will save a huge amount of money.'We are very confident that our policy of securely picking people up and safely taking them back to France – we are entirely confident that that falls within other conventions of international law.'Mr Farage added: 'When you think about it, what is the Royal Navy for?'If the Royal Navy is not there to protect this country from invasion, then, frankly, I can't see what its purpose is.'Asked whether he'd received any assurances that France would cooperate with Reform's plans, Mr Farage said: 'For the French there are big upsides, very big upsides.'Life from Dunkirk through Calais, through Hardelot, Wimereux, all those rather beautiful little villages on Côte d'Opale, life is now hell.'People stay locked in their houses, you can't resell a house, there's crime, there's litter, there's vandalism, there's gang violence, there are stabbings, there are shootings.'Dealing with this problem would be a great, great relief to the people of northern France. So that's the first thing I would say, there is a big upside to the French in this. 'Have we had talks with some senior French political figures about this? Yes, and I think attitudes are starting to change.'And they are also beginning to realise we have given them a lot of money and this would, in fact, be helping them with their objectives.'Are we there yet, can I guarantee you that they'll welcome this with open arms? I can't.'But can I say there is a softening of attitude towards this position? Yes. And, of course, we have some very major French elections coming up next year.'Mr Farage said the scenes from Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa where around 60,000 migrants last week breached the border with Morocco, showed 'just how serious this situation is'.He also claimed that 'absolutely enormous' sums could be saved for taxpayers under Reform's plans as he insisted his party was not 'upping the cost' of dealing with the Channel crisis.'All these deals with the French, we have just handed over more and more money, the more money we hand over, the more migrants that come,' Mr Farage said.'If this operation that we talked about today it would, in short order, save this country certainly two, maybe three, maybe more, billions of pounds every single year.'And the long-term saving of it would be absolutely enormous.'