Tony Abbott, who stopped Australia’s small boats crisis while serving as Prime Minister, has told GB News just how Britain can follow in his nation’s footsteps, warning that the French “won’t like it”.

Sitting down with GB News star Martin Daubney at the Tory Party Conference in Manchester, the former world leader gave some advice for ways to stop the boats “come what may”.

Back in 2013 under Mr Abbott’s Government and led by the Australian Border Force, Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) sought to stop asylum seekers arriving on the country’s shores.

The system implemented a “zero tolerance” stance towards illegal arrivals on the Australian shores and was subject to international scrutiny by the UN and human rights lawyers – criticism which Britain should not be “put off by”, the leader added.

“What the next strong British Government needs to do is conduct very vigorous operations onshore and offshore to ensure that the people smuggling gangs are broken up and people who are trying to cross the channel illegally go back to where they came from,” he told Martin.

“You’re not going to be put off by, I suppose, diplomatic protests from other countries – frankly, what’s happening across the English Channel now and what was happening across the Timor Sea a decade ago in Australia.

“It’s a form of peaceful invasion, and no country can accept what amounts to a peaceful invasion,” Mr Abbott declared.

What his Government pursued that other legislators did not, he said, was “when the people smugglers scuttled their boats and put would-be illegal migrants into the water”.

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He explained how his forces would take the individuals onto Australian ships, adding: “We put them on unsinkable orange lifeboats with just enough fuel to make it back to Java and said, that’s the way to go. See you later.

“And once you’re paying the people smugglers for a journey to nowhere, the game is up,” he added, admitting that the tactic has “quite a lot of instructive lessons for Britain right now”.

“The French wouldn’t like it, of course, but frankly, I think it’s an unfriendly act not cracking down on these people smuggling gangs operating out of northern France,” he told Martin.

Tony Abbott spoke while attending the Tory Party Conference, which has turned into a hot-bed for discussions on ways to strengthen Britain’s borders.

Over the weekend, leader Kemi Badenoch announced 150,000 illegal migrants would be deported every year under Conservative rule as the Tories appeared to rival Reform’s immigration policy.

The seven-part plan also includes banning asylum claims for illegal entrants, withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights and European Convention of Action against Trafficking, as well as repealing the Human Rights Act.

Mrs Badenoch committed her party to deporting all new illegal migrants within a mere seven days, starting as soon as they step foot on British shores.

Other measures include ending the Immigration Tribunal, Judicial Review and legal aid for immigration case, signing returns agreements backed by visa sanctions and supporting Britain’s allies abroad to prevent illegal entry to Europe.