Nigel Farage has committed his Reform UK party to spending more than £17bn on policies to halve crime in the UK if he becomes prime minister. The plans, which include building five ad-hoc 'Nightingale' prisons and deporting over 10,000 foreign criminals, would be funded by scrapping the HS2 rail project and abandoning net zero targets.
At a press conference in London, Farage outlined a three-page document estimating the annual cost of the crime and justice policies at £3.48bn. This includes £2.1bn per year to recruit 30,000 additional police officers, £1bn to create 12,400 prison places, £250m for renting prison space abroad in countries like El Salvador and Estonia, and £80m on pop-up custody centres in crime hotspots.
Farage defended the funding approach, citing the 'utterly failed' HS2 project and the cost of net zero as sources of savings. He criticised successive home secretaries for a deterioration in public trust, describing the conditions as 'nothing short of societal collapse'. He warned that the UK is close to civil disobedience, referencing protests outside an asylum hotel in Essex.
When questioned about the human rights records of potential prison destinations such as El Salvador, Farage appeared to backtrack, stating that while El Salvador may be an extreme example, sending prisoners to Kosovo or Estonia is a serious proposal. He also defended Reform MP James McMurdock, who has a past conviction for assault, arguing for the importance of rehabilitation.
