British politician Farage to unveil ‘mass deportation’ plan

Nigel Farage is to publish plans for mass deportations of asylum seekers who come to the UK on small boats. His Reform UK party would seek to put these plans in place if it entered government. Arresting asylum seekers on arrival, automatic detention and forced deportation to countries such as Afghanistan and Eritrea are among the proposals reported to be announced on Tuesday.

They also include deals with third countries, which could include reviving the Conservatives’ Rwanda link-up, and sending asylum seekers to British overseas territories such as Ascension Island as a “fallback” option.

Mr Farage said the plans could see hundreds of thousands of people deported and five charter flights taking off from the UK every day. It comes amid rising tensions over asylum hotels and as the Government said it planned to appeal against a court ruling blocking the use of a hotel in Epping, Essex.

The first step of Reform UK’s plans would be to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and to scrap the Human Rights Act, followed by legislation to bar those who come to the UK on small boats from claiming asylum.

“The aim of this legislation is mass deportations,” Clacton MP Mr Farage told The Times.

Yvette Cooper

“We have a massive crisis in Britain. It is not only posing a national security threat but it’s leading to public anger that frankly is not very far away from disorder. “There is only one way to stop people coming into Britain and that is to detain them and deport them.”

Sir Keir Starmer’s Government is struggling with rising tensions over hotels housing asylum seekers and a record number of people crossing the English Chanel in small boats so far this year. Those arriving on small boats would face immediate arrest under Reform UK’s plans, and the party would also seek to build detention centres to house 24,000 people, Mr Farage told The Times. He wants to sign deals with countries such as Afghanistan and Eritrea to send people back. Reviving the Conservative Party’s Rwanda plan or a deal with Albania could also be on the table under plans to send people to third countries.

After a temporary injunction was granted on Tuesday to Epping Forest District Council to remove asylum seekers from the Bell Hotel in Epping, councils across the country controlled by Labour, the Conservatives and Reform UK are considering following suit with their own legal challenges. On Friday, the Home Office said it would appeal against the High Court’s refusal to allow it to intervene in the case of the Bell Hotel, and to further appeal against the temporary injunction.

Somani Hotels, the owner of the Bell Hotel, also plans to appeal against the court order blocking the use of its site as accommodation for asylum seekers. A wave of protests outside hotels used to temporarily house asylum seekers is expected in the coming days. The Home Office has a legal obligation to provide accommodation to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute and can move people to alternatives such as hotels and large sites, like former military bases. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said ministers are working to close hotels housing asylum seekers “as swiftly as possible” as part of an “orderly” programme that avoids creating problems for other areas. South Norfolk Council said on Friday that it had been informed that the Home Office intends to stop housing asylum seekers at the Park Hotel in the town of Diss.

The hotel’s operator had warned it would close if the Home Office followed through with plans to begin placing men at the site instead of families.