UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Reform UK leader Nigel Farage outlines plan to detain and deport up to 600,000 asylum seekers, including women and children, if elected.
As reported by The Independent, Nigel Farage confirmed children could face mass deportation under Reform UK’s plan.
How would Nigel Farage’s Reform UK plan detain women and children?
The Clacton MP launched Reform’s “Operation Restoring Justice,” a five-year plan to detain and deport illegal migrants and stop new arrivals if the party gains power in the next election.
Mr Farage said up to 600,000 asylum seekers might be deported during the first parliament.
When questioned if women and children would be included, he responded, “Yes, women and children, everybody on arrival will be detained.”
Mr Farage said,
“And I’ve accepted already that how we deal with children is a much more complicated and difficult issue. But you know what, the people protesting outside the Bell Hotel and at 30 migrant hotels on Saturday around the country weren’t doing it because of the few children coming.”
He stated,
“They were doing it because over three-quarters of those that come are young undocumented males who come from cultures that are entirely different from ours, who are very unlikely to assimilate into our community, who pose a risk to women and girls, and some of them, I’m afraid, pose a risk to national security. So it’s pretty clear, I think, what our priorities are.”
The party vowed to expand detention for 24,000 asylum seekers and arrange returns with countries including Afghanistan, Eritrea, and Iran.
Reform UK estimated the plan would cost £10 billion, offset by £7 billion saved on illegal migration. They plan to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights for UK citizens and legal residents.
Mr Farage stated that stopping small boat arrivals requires detaining and deporting everyone arriving by that route.
He added,
“And if we do that, the boats will stop coming within days, because there will be no incentive to pay a trafficker to get into this country. If you come to the UK illegally, you will be detained and deported and never, ever allowed to stay, period. That is our big message from today.”
What did Zia Yusuf say about lifetime bans for illegal migrants entering the UK?
Zia Yusuf, head of Reform’s government efficiency department, said,
“If you come to the UK illegally, you will receive a lifetime ban from ever coming back to our country, re-entering after deportation will become a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison. Deliberately destroying your identity documents, having come here illegally, will also become a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison.”
He stated,
“We will pair this legislative reset with a UK deportation command – that is, a dedicated force to identifying, detaining and deporting illegal migrants at scale. We’ll create a cutting-edge data fusion centre that will automatically share data between the police, the Home Office, the NHS, the DVLA, HMRC and banks.”
Mr Yusuf added,
“We’ll build capacity to detain up to 24,000 illegal migrants at a time. That enables us to deport up to 288,000 illegal migrants a year. Detention will mean deportation, no chance of bail, and no chance of absconding.”
What did Matthew Pennycook say about Reform UK’s migration plans?
Minister Matthew Pennycook called the Reform plans “unworkable gimmicks” and said party ideas were “put together on the back of a fag packet.”
He added,
“This government has secured returns agreements, including a groundbreaking pilot agreement with France. We’re seeking to secure others, but, frankly, the idea that Nigel Farage and the circus that is Reform can come in and secure those agreements, I think, is for the birds.”
What did Kemi Badenoch say about Reform UK’s Deportation Bill?
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, said, Reform’s “immigration plan looks very familiar.”
She added,
“We set out our Deportation Bill months ago. He’s copied our homework but missed the lesson. At Conference, we’ll show you not just the answers, but our working. That’s how we’ll build trust with the public and get real results.”
What did Daisy Cooper say about Reform UK’s mass deportation plans?
The Liberal Democrats slammed Reform UK’s deportation plans, warning they violate human rights and may include payments to authoritarian regimes.
The party’s deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, stated,
“(Nigel) Farage’s plan crumbles under the most basic scrutiny. The idea that Reform UK is going to magic up some new places to detain people and deport them to, but don’t have a clue where those places would be, is taking the public for fools.”
She said,
“Of course Nigel Farage wants to follow his idol Vladimir Putin in ripping up the human rights convention. Winston Churchill would be turning in his grave. Doing so would only make it harder for each of us as individuals to hold the government to account and stop it trampling on our freedoms.”
Ms Cooper added,
“Reform’s Taliban tribute plan would send British taxpayers’ cash to fund their oppressive regime, fuelling the persecution of Afghan women and children and betraying our brave armed forces who sacrificed so much fighting the Taliban. Clearly, British values mean nothing to Farage and his band of plastic patriots.”
What did Kolbassia Haoussou say about Reform UK scrapping the Refugee and Torture Conventions?
Kolbassia Haoussou, director at Freedom from Torture, responded to Reform UK’s plan to ignore the 1951 Refugee Convention and the UN Convention Against Torture.
He said,
“This is not who we are as a country. Here in the UK, public support for upholding the torture ban has grown significantly in recent years. People know that turning a blind eye is just not an option. Men, women and children are coming to the UK looking for safety. They are fleeing the unimaginable horrors of torture in places like Afghanistan, Sudan and Iran. And they desperately need our protection.”
Mr Haoussou stated,
“At Freedom from Torture, we see every day the human cost of torture: how it destroys lives and tears at the fabric of societies. The UN Convention Against Torture is a promise to defend our shared right to live a life free from torture. For centuries, the UK has been a leading voice against torture, helping to shape the very international laws that Reform proposes we destroy.”
He added,
“These laws were created in the aftermath of the Second World War to protect us all. If Britain were to abandon this legacy, it would hand repressive regimes around the world a gift and undermine one of humanity’s clearest moral lines. We must not stay silent.”
Key facts about illegal migrants in the UK
As of August 2025, 27,997 people arrived in the UK via small boats. Despite government efforts, only 4% of these arrivals have been returned to their home countries.
Most arrivals, 94%, have claimed asylum, contributing to ongoing processing delays. The backlog remains significant, with 224,700 cases still pending as of June 2024.