Nigel Farage, leader of Britain’s anti-migration Reform UK party, unveiled a sweeping plan on Tuesday to scrap human rights protections and enable mass deportations of asylum seekers, a move he said was necessary to avert “major civil disorder.”
Farage pledged to withdraw Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), repeal the Human Rights Act, and set aside other international agreements that have blocked deportation efforts.
“We are not far away from major civil disorder,” Farage told reporters. “It is an invasion, as these young men illegally break into our country.”
His remarks come amid small but persistent protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers, fuelled by safety concerns after recent criminal charges against some individuals.
Immigration has now overtaken the economy as the top public concern, opinion polls show.
Reform UK — with just four MPs but currently leading voting intention surveys — is ratcheting up pressure on Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer to act.
Britain received a record 108,100 asylum applications in 2024, nearly 20% more than the previous year, led by arrivals from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Bangladesh.
Much of the political debate has centred on record Channel crossings by small boats.
Reform claims its proposals could allow the deportation of up to 600,000 asylum seekers during its first term in office. Asked at the press conference whether that target was realistic, senior party official Zia Yusuf replied: “Totally.”
Starmer’s government and its Conservative predecessor have both struggled to curb illegal migration. The Conservatives’ plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was struck down by the UK’s highest court.
Reform says it would negotiate deals with countries including Afghanistan and Eritrea to take back nationals who entered Britain illegally. But government minister Matthew Pennycook dismissed the proposals as “a series of gimmicks” and warned that leaving the ECHR could undermine peace in Northern Ireland.
Farage insisted he was the only leader willing to take the “hard choices,” framing the issue as a matter of public safety versus “outdated treaties backed up by dubious courts.”
Meanwhile, Starmer has vowed to target smuggling gangs by overhauling the asylum appeals process and recruiting more enforcement officers.
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Negotiations between the U.S. and Iran mediated by Qatar in Doha have concluded, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi has said.
A Russian couple climbed to the top of the Empire State Building and unfurled a banner urging world peace before, in an apparent elaborate marriage proposal that ended with their arrests.
On 1 July, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Azerbaijan on a working visit.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway this week in a landmark tour of the Nordic region that reflects Beijing's efforts to strengthen ties with Europe at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty.
Iranian and U.S. negotiating teams were due in Doha this week, but Iran said on Monday no meeting had been scheduled as weekend missile fire from both sides tested the interim ceasefire to end the four-month-old war.
Negotiations between the U.S. and Iran mediated by Qatar in Doha have concluded, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi has said.
Mexico ended their 40-year wait for a World Cup knockout win, while Erling Haaland sent Norway through and Kylian Mbappé fired France into the last 16.
The wife and children of Argentine footballer Lucas Trejo were among around 1,700 people who died when two earthquakes struck northern Venezuela last week.
The latest AnewZ investigative documentary examines how Emmanuel Macron’s promise to break with France’s old political habits collided with diplomatic setbacks in Africa and legal fallout surrounding figures once close to the Élysée.
A Russian couple climbed to the top of the Empire State Building and unfurled a banner urging world peace before, in an apparent elaborate marriage proposal that ended with their arrests.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway this week in a landmark tour of the Nordic region that reflects Beijing's efforts to strengthen ties with Europe at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty.
South African police arrested more than 900 people during nationwide anti-migrant protests on Tuesday (30 June), as demonstrations across the country turned violent in some areas, although most remained peaceful.
German prosecutors have arrested a German-Rwandan national on suspicion of aiding genocide and 25 counts of murder during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, authorities said on Wednesday (1 July).
At least five people have died after a fire swept through a 10-storey apartment building in the Belgian city of Antwerp, authorities said on Wednesday.
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