Reform UK announced its preparedness to deport 600,000 asylum seekers from Britain, aiming to prevent “civil disorder.”
Party leader Nigel Farage stated that the plan encompasses Britain’s withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the repeal of the Human Rights Act, and the scrapping of international treaties that obstruct forced deportations, Reuters reported.
The ECHR, a cornerstone of U.K. human rights law, has repeatedly been utilized to halt deportations of migrants deemed to be in the country illegally, the BBC reported.
“We are not far away from major civil disorder,” Farage asserted at a press conference. He added, “It is an invasion, as these young men illegally break into our country.”
Dubbed Operation Restoring Justice, the plan is, according to Farage, the “only way” to stop small boats from crossing the English Channel. He further suggested that individuals intercepted at sea should be detained and deported.
“If we do that, the boats will stop coming in days because there will be no incentive,” he contended.
Labour Party Chairwoman Ellie Reeves criticized the announcement, stating it lacked sufficient detail.
“Today, we got none of those things, nor a single answer to the practical, financial, or ethical questions about how their plan would work,” she remarked.
The announcement followed weeks of localized protests concerning mass migration and crimes allegedly committed by some asylum seekers.
Britain recorded a high of 108,100 asylum applications in 2024, with many originating from , Iran, and Bangladesh.
Polling data indicates that immigration has now surpassed the economy as the top concern for voters. Reform UK, despite holding only four seats in Parliament, is leading in recent surveys of voting intentions, Reuters reported.
Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook dismissed the proposals as “a series of gimmicks” that would not prove effective. Opponents of Reform UK and several charitable organizations stated the plan would amount to Britain abandoning its human rights commitments.