Nigel Farage has laid out controversial new proposals that would see large-scale detention and deportation of people entering the UK without legal permission.
The Reform UK leader said the measures would be implemented if his party won the next general election, though legal experts warn the plans would face significant barriers both at home and internationally.
Central to the proposals is the creation of detention centres capable of holding up to 24,000 people within 18 months — almost a quarter of the UK’s current total prison population.
Those detained would not be released into the community, but instead kept in the facilities until they could be deported in groups.
Mr Farage said a Reform government would also repeal the Human Rights Act and withdraw the UK from several key international agreements, including the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Refugee Convention.
At the launch event in Oxford, Reform candidate Zia Yusuf outlined the initiative, titled Operation Restoring Justice.
He described the plan to abandon human rights and refugee treaties as a “temporary” suspension of obligations for up to five years.
The party argues that such a move would allow the UK to remove everyone who enters the country illegally — typically those without visas — without permitting them to lodge asylum claims.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Mr Farage said: “They would be arrested and detained in disused military bases. We may need to add some prefabricated buildings as well.”
At the Oxford event, he stood in front of a large Union Jack but declined to name any potential locations for the facilities, suggesting instead that the government could buy sites and develop them later.
He confirmed Reform would negotiate deportation deals with countries such as Afghanistan and Eritrea, despite international concerns about returning people to regimes where they could face persecution.
When pressed about this risk, Mr Farage replied: “Of course it troubles me. But what troubles me more is what we’re seeing happen on our own streets.”
He added, “Britain cannot carry the burden of every injustice in the world. It is simply not possible.”
Mr Yusuf, addressing the Oxford audience, dismissed concerns about women and girls who might be forced back to Afghanistan, calling such questions “bogus” before focusing instead on young male migrants.
Earlier in the day, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Reform would even consider offering funds to the Taliban as part of a return deal.
Mr Farage later clarified that Afghan interpreters who supported British troops during the war would not be included in the policy.
Humanitarian groups have condemned the proposals. Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said Britain has a proud tradition of offering safety to those fleeing persecution.
He said: “After the horrors of the Second World War, the UK joined allies in agreeing that refugees should be given a fair chance to seek asylum. That principle is something we should defend, not dismantle.”
Reform’s plan is likely to remain one of the most contentious issues in the party’s election platform, with opponents warning it would undermine Britain’s international reputation.
