Nigel Farage has rowed back on his pledge to deport all small-boat arrivals, including women and children, just 24 hours after making the commitment. The Reform UK leader had announced plans to deport hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers within five years, stating that 'women and children, everybody on arrival, will be detained.'
Speaking near Edinburgh on Wednesday, Farage clarified that deporting women and children is 'not part of our plan for the next five years.' When pressed, he said: 'We're not even discussing women and children at this stage, there are so many illegal males in Britain.' He did not rule out future deportation of women and children, stating they were not 'exempt for ever.'
Farage also backtracked on renegotiating the Good Friday Agreement, calling the Northern Ireland situation 'deeply complex' and saying it would not be 'at the forefront of what we do.' This followed condemnation from Northern Irish political parties who labelled his earlier comments reckless.
The Reform leader denied having a 'woman problem,' claiming increasing numbers of women had joined the party. He was speaking at an event to introduce Graham Simpson, the latest defector from the Scottish Conservatives to Reform, who becomes the party's sole MSP in the Scottish Parliament.
Simpson denied allegations of bullying a female staffer, which a Scottish Conservative source had described as 'totally inappropriate, bullying and intimidating behaviour.' Farage predicted a 'wipeout' for the Scottish Conservatives at next May's Holyrood elections, citing Reform's growth in Scotland.
