The Catholic Church of England and Wales has criticised Nigel Farage's plan to close the UK to all asylum seekers if he becomes prime minister, saying it contradicts the Bible's teachings.
In a blow to the Reform UK leader's claim to represent 'Judeo Christian values', the Church told The Mirror that turning away those fleeing persecution is contrary to scripture. It pointed to Pope Leo's warnings about hatred and division when asked for its position on Mr Farage's announcement.
On Monday, Mr Farage announced that the UK would not accept anyone claiming asylum for five years if he gets to No10.
Church statement on welcoming strangers
In a statement, a Church spokesperson said: “The Gospel calls us to welcome the stranger, and that call must shape how we speak about and respond to people seeking safety. In 2023, The Bishops’ of England and Wales published a document called Love The Stranger reminding us that every migrant has a name, a face and a story.
“As Pope Leo recently commented after his Apostolic Journey to France: ‘We can go back to the values of the Gospel, which are not about hatred and division, they are about understanding, compassion and accompaniment.
“‘I hope deeply, and the Church can be part of this, that we can find ways of reaching out to a majority of people of goodwill who will understand how important their commitment is, even in terms of participating in political processes, to make clear choices for the common good and not for extremist ideas (that perhaps will do much more damage than we are even aware of now).
“For our part, we [promote] the social doctrine of the Church, talking about, teaching about, preaching about what we believe. These are life-giving values and not about destruction, division, and hatred.”
Farage's asylum suspension plans
Earlier this week, Mr Farage said he would suspend the UK's asylum system for five years. He confirmed this would involve removing women and children from countries like Afghanistan - but it is not clear where they would be sent.
Mr Farage said: "All of the Tories' and Labour's immigration schemes - Afghanistan, Palestine - will immediately be closed. Every asylum grant given in the prior five years will be reviewed.
"Those who came illegally, or from a safe country, will have their asylum grant revoked and be deported. Countries that refuse to take back their illegal migrants and criminals will face visa bans, sanctions, and tariffs."
The Reform chief has previously come under fire from religious leaders over his party's migration plans. Last year the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell - who was the top Church of England bishop at the time - said Reform's deportation proposals were "beneath us as a nation".
Mr Farage hit back by claiming the Church of England had "gone to the dogs".
Political critics weigh in
Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, who chairs the Christians in Parliament group, said it is "inexcusable" to make such claims about Christian values.
He told The Mirror: "Nigel Farage has said that he believes Christian values are what has made Britain great – I don’t disagree, in fact the values of western liberal democracies are fundamentally shaped by the gospel.
"One of those Christian values is that each human being is made in God’s image and loved by God. It’s a massive contradiction to say that we should be a Christian country but then to say things which are diametrically opposed to Christianity, such as denying people any basic human dignity.
"Nigel Farage does not claim to be a Christian and I applaud his honesty on that. But he then says he wants Britain to be run on Christian values whilst clearly not understanding them. And that is what’s inexcusable."
Mr Farage - who makes no claims to be a devout Christian himself - has previously spoken about defending Christian values. He told a press conference in February: "I can see that so much of what makes Britain such a great country is associated and irrevocably derived from Christian heritage."
Other prominent critics have included the Bishop of Oxford, who said it was "deeply disturbing" that Reform had attempted to "stoke division for political advantage".
Challenged about the comments by senior Bishops, Mr Farage said: "You've just encapsulated beautifully, I couldn't have done it better myself, why the Church of England has gone to the dogs. I think they've got a rather twisted view of what their flock in this country actually want them to do."
