Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has unveiled his party’s proposals to tackle illegal migration, including mass deportations and major changes to the UK’s human rights framework.
Politics | Immigration | Reform UK
Tuesday 26 August 2025
At a press conference in Oxfordshire, Farage said a future Reform government would take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and scrap the Human Rights Act, replacing it with a new British Bill of Rights that only covers UK citizens and legal residents.
While Reform currently holds just four seats in Parliament, recent opinion polls have placed the party around 30% support nationally.
Standing alongside Zia Yusuf, the party’s Head of Government Efficiency, Farage stated:
“Anyone entering the UK illegally will be detained, deported, and permanently barred from staying.”
He described small boat crossings as a “serious national security risk” and a “direct challenge to public order.”
Operation Restoring Justice
Farage’s proposal, dubbed Operation Restoring Justice, is framed as a five-year emergency programme. It would aim to identify, detain, and deport hundreds of thousands of people currently in the UK without legal status.
- Reform claims 600,000 asylum seekers could be deported within its first parliamentary term.
- A new UK Deportation Command would be created to enforce removals.
- Deportees would be offered £2,500 to return to their home country or relocate to third nations such as Rwanda or Albania.
- Foreign aid, visa access, and sanctions would be used as bargaining tools with countries that refuse to accept returnees.
The plan also includes using disused military bases to house up to 24,000 migrants within 18 months, at a projected cost of £2.5 billion. A new “data fusion centre” would link records from police, NHS, HMRC, banks, and other institutions to track people overstaying illegally.
When pressed on the scope of the removals, Farage admitted:
“The challenge is how far back you go — and I accept that’s a difficult issue.”
He confirmed that women and children would also be detained, saying their cases would be “complicated but necessary” to address.
The Cost
Farage claims the initiative would cost £10 billion but argues it could save £7 billion currently spent on illegal migration in the first five years.
The government dismissed the announcement as “unworkable gimmicks” and “back-of-the-envelope sums.”
Concerns Over Deportations
Journalists challenged Farage on whether Reform would deport people to unstable or authoritarian states, such as Afghanistan or Iran.
Reform co-founder Richard Tice defended the approach, saying:
“The duty of the British government is to protect British people. We cannot solve every problem around the world.”
Critics, however, point to figures from the Migration Observatory showing that 68% of small boat arrivals between 2018 and 2024 were granted asylum, compared with an average 48% approval rate across all asylum applications.
Charities including the Refugee Council argue the UK hosts just 1% of the world’s 27 million refugees, with the majority finding safety in neighbouring countries.
Political & Public Reactions
- Government response: Downing Street said the PM shared public frustration over illegal migration but rejected Farage’s plan to leave the ECHR, warning it would undermine the Good Friday Agreement.
- Labour: Ellie Reeves MP said Farage “cannot explain where detention centres will be located, what will happen to families, or how hostile regimes like Iran would be convinced to take people back.”
- Conservatives: Leader Kemi Badenoch accused Reform of repackaging Tory ideas, adding: “Saying you’ll leave the ECHR is not a plan.”
- Liberal Democrats: Daisy Cooper branded the proposals a “Taliban tribute plan,” accusing Farage of offering taxpayer money to repressive regimes and undermining Britain’s international reputation.
Meanwhile, community tensions linked to asylum hotels continue across the UK, with legal battles already emerging between councils and the Home Office. Polling suggests widespread dissatisfaction: 71% of voters believe the PM is handling asylum issues poorly.
