Nigel Farage, a former leader of the Brexit campaign, outlined plans on Saturday for large-scale deportations of migrants who crossed the English Channel in small boats, should his Reform UK party come to power in the UK.
In an interview with the Saturday edition of The Times, Farage stated he would pull Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights and sign agreements with countries like Afghanistan, Eritrea, and others to facilitate the repatriation of undocumented migrants.
“We can choose to be kind to people or assert strength with other nations… Donald Trump demonstrated this very effectively,” Farage remarked. When questioned about concerns that deported asylum seekers might face threats or torture in countries with poor human rights records, Farage expressed greater concern about the perceived threat asylum seekers pose to British citizens.
“I can’t control despotic regimes worldwide, but I am responsible for the safety of women and girls on our streets,” he asserted. Recent weeks have seen protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers, driven by safety concerns after some migrants faced sexual assault charges.
Polls show that the electorate’s top concerns are immigration and asylum issues, slightly surpassing economic worries. Reform UK, which secured five seats in last year’s general election, currently leads in recent voting intention surveys.
In 2024, roughly 37,000 people, primarily from Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Vietnam, and Eritrea, arrived in Britain by crossing the Channel. This number marked a 25% increase from the previous year and made up about 9% of the country’s net migration. Data analysis from Oxford University indicates that about two-thirds of those who arrive in this manner successfully claim asylum, yet only 3% face deportation.
Farage proposed eliminating the right to seek asylum or challenge deportation for small-boat arrivals by amending existing human rights laws and withdrawing Britain from refugee treaties, citing a nationwide emergency.
“The goal of this legislation is to execute mass deportations,” he said, claiming that a “massive crisis” driven by asylum seekers has fueled public unrest. The Times reported that Farage envisions establishing detention centers for 24,000 migrants on military air bases at a projected cost of £2.5 billion ($3.4 billion), with plans for five deportation flights daily, potentially resulting in hundreds of thousands of removals. If these efforts fail, he suggested that asylum seekers could be held on Ascension Island, a British territory in the South Atlantic, as a symbolic measure.
