Nigel Farage has described migrants arriving in the UK via small boats as "aggressive" and "dangerous" young men, warning that some could potentially become a hostile force or even an "army" within the country.
The Reform UK leader's comments came during an appearance on TalkTV, following the release of footage by journalist Christian Drogan. Drogan spent weeks posing as a British criminal and was able to cross the Channel in a small boat, documenting his journey.
Farage praises undercover journalism
Farage praised Drogan's "extraordinary" journalism, highlighting the significant risk he took by spending weeks undercover inside migrant camps in Calais. By watching Drogan's footage, Farage deciphered that the only people who make it onto the small boats are "young, fit males".
TalkTV presenter Jeremy Kyle referenced previous comments by former Chief Secretary Darren Jones, who claimed that the majority of people crossing the Channel illegally in small boats were women and children. "That's fundamentally wrong," Kyle remarked.
'National security emergency'
Farage agreed, before raising concerns about the future. He said: "These are aggressive, dangerous young males. There is no other way of putting it. There are some who say could some of them turn into a force within this country, perhaps even an army within this country that's against us at some point in the future? I don't think we're there yet, but the risk remains."
Farage added: "What I am certain of and what I've been saying for a long time, and it's really summed up here by the journalist Christian Drogan where he says at the end of the article, 'This is a national security emergency.' That's the exact phrase that I've been using for a very very long time."
Governments accused of collusion
The politician went on to accuse the British and French governments of "colluding and allowing" Channel migrant crossings. He said: "Literally 200 yards off the beach at Dunkirk or Wimereux, or wherever it was, the French navy then escort it all the way. In some cases, if they haven't got lifejackets, the French Navy give them lifejackets.
"Once the escort has taken them all the way to our 12-mile line, the lifejackets are being collected up by Border Force and given back to the French so they can be used again. This is two governments who basically, despite everything they tell you, are effectively colluding and allowing a criminal trafficking enterprise."
