Philip Hammond

The UK and more particularly Theresa May and Philip Hammond played an important role in bringing Mare Nostrum to an end, as both described search and rescue operations as an “unintended pull factor (See UK, “executive summary”). In the capacity of Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Philip Hammond has directed the Office and given strategic policy direction from July 2014 to July 2016. (See UK, “Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office”). Home Secretary Theresa May and the Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said that rescue operations created a “pull factor” and lead to more deaths at sea as they encouraged migration (See UK, "Operation Sophia"). According to The Guardian, Theresa May and Philip Hammond were involved in bringing Mare Nostrum to an end. When David Cameron wanted to extend the support of SAR in the Mediterranean, Hammond and Theresa May strongly opposed

In 2015, as a Foreign Secretary Hammond said that “The gap in standards of living between Europe and Africa means there will always be millions of Africans with the economic motivation to try to get to Europe.” He added: “So long as there are large numbers of pretty desperate migrants marauding around the area, there always will be a threat to the tunnel security. We’ve got to resolve this problem ultimately by being able to return those who are not entitled to claim asylum back to their countries of origin.” For Hammond, EU laws meant that migrants were confident that they would not be returned to their country of origin once they arrived. “Now that is not a sustainable situation because Europe can’t protect itself, preserve its standard of living and social infrastructure if it has to absorb millions of migrants from Africa”.Hammond is quoted to have said: “When we talked to people who had been rescued they were under the impression that they could get on an unseaworthy vessel and they would be picked up within hours ... We do not want people to feel they are willing to embark on unseaworthy vessels to take risks that are simply not sensible to take. If you have people falling off a cliff you do not spend all your resources picking them up at the bottom of the cliff, you build a fence at the top of the cliff.” This is why according to Hammond the principal aim should be to stop traffickers.

The decision to train the Libyan navy as part of Operation Sophia was taken at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on the 23rd of May 2016. Hammond was thus present there. Hammond said that “The Libyan coastguards are the basis on which we need to strengthen security in the coastal waters of Libya. We can provide training and equipment including additional technical support.” Further, he said that “the key thing is that we've now got the Libyan government asking us for that help," he said, adding that a more effective coast guard "will cut down arms smuggling along the coast, but it will also of course cut down illegal migration towards Europe" 

Alan Travis has argued that the UK did have a central role in establishing Operation Sophia. The Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond attended the European Council meeting on 18 May 2015 where Operation Sophia was discussed (See UK, "Operation Sophia").

In April 2016 Hammond made a visit to Libya to meet the new Prime Minister of the GNA, Fayez al Serraj. There he pledged £10 million in assistance from the UK, which included £1.5 million “for tackling illegal migration, smuggling and organized crime