Nigel Farage has been accused of “ugly” and “destructive” rhetoric after unveiling plans to deport hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and pay despotic regimes, including the Taliban, to take them back. The Reform UK leader announced his “Operation Restoring Justice” at a combative press conference in Oxford, pledging to rip up the UK’s postwar human rights commitments to deport “absolutely anyone” arriving by small boat, including women and children.
Farage described asylum seekers as a threat to national security and to British women, claiming his plans would stop Channel crossings “within days” and save “tens and possibly hundreds of billions of pounds”. Downing Street accused Farage of not being serious, but the prime minister’s spokesperson refused to criticise his references to irregular migration as an “invasion” and a “scourge”, or his prediction that Britain is “not far away from major civil disorder”. The spokesperson said the government was “not going to take anything off the table” regarding a returns deal with Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, said: “We really are through the looking-glass now. Nigel Farage pretending to be patriotic while pledging to rip up Britain’s proud record of leading the world on human rights. As we’ve seen across history, his populist playbook is ugly, powerful and incredibly destructive.” Laura Smith, co-head of legal at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, described the proposals as a “Rubicon moment” that would “tear through centuries of British legal tradition” with little resistance from mainstream parties.
Farage argued that “over three-quarters” of small-boat arrivals were “young undocumented males” from “cultures entirely different from ours” who were “unlikely to assimilate” and “pose a risk to women and girls”. His plans include leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, repealing the Human Rights Act, and disapplying the 1951 refugee convention and the UN convention against torture. Legal experts warned such moves would not be a panacea. Adam Wagner KC, a human rights barrister, noted that British courts might still uphold rights derived from common law.
Farage was unable to name a single RAF base to be converted into secure detention facilities or explain how his scheme would be funded. He offered no detail on securing deportation agreements with countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Sudan, many of which have no return treaties. The Conservatives accused Reform UK of “reheating and recycling” Tory plans.
