Comment Following a recent spate of pirate attacks* off the Horn of Africa, reportedly Her Majesty's Royal Navy has been powerless to act following official concern over possible violations of the buccaneers' human rights - and worries that they might seek asylum in the UK after being captured.
The shipping paper Lloyds List first reported the supposed government handwringing in an analysis piece on the recent surge in piracy off the lawless Somali coast. Much of the world's trade passes close by Somalia, constrained by the Bab-el-Mandeb straits at the southern end of the Red Sea. The area has long been a hotspot of maritime crime, but in recent months activity has surged to unprecendented heights - with ships and entire crews being seized and held to ransom in the notorious pirate port of Eyl.
Other navies such as the French have recently mounted aggressive raids against the pirates, and even Russia has now ordered a naval taskforce to the region. But British warships patrolling the Red and Arabian seas have so far failed to get stuck in.
According to Lloyds List:
British Foreign Office officials are understood to have advised the Royal Navy not to confront or arrest pirates in the region for fear of transgressing human rights legislation or encouraging their seeking asylum once taken to the UK.
The possibility of piratical sea-scum being clapped in irons and returned to Blighty, there to roast swans in rent-free council flats rather than dancing a final hornpipe on the end of a rope at Execution Dock, has led to a predictable outburst of tubthumping.
The Navy has issued a boilerplate denial that it is soft on piracy, saying that "Royal Navy commanding officers take decisive action to aid ships under attack in international waters, including the use of force or detention if necessary"
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