Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (Image: Getty)
Nigel Farage announced plans to deport foreign prisoners as part of a crackdown on crime at a press conference today. The Reform UK leader said his insurgent party would aim halve crime in five years if they win the next general election.
Speaking at a press conference in Westminster, he said: “Reform will be the toughest party on law and order and on crime that this country has ever seen. We will aim to cut crime by half in the first five years of Reform government. We will take back control of our streets. We will take back control of our courts, of our prisons.”
He added: “If you’re a criminal, I am putting you on notice today that from 2029 or whenever that may be, either you obey the law or you will face very serious justice.”
Mr Farage wants to see more than 10,000 more prison places freed up by deporting foreign criminals to their country of origin through bilateral agreements.
He pledged 12,400 new prison places on MoD land and five new “Nightingale Prisons” to be built with the assistance of the Army.
The party also wants prison places overseas in places such as El Salvador.
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Tories hit out at Farage
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Nigel Farage is writing his own crime fiction. Their own document admits it is unfunded – which means they are not being honest about the price you will pay for their policies just like Labour.
“This is the same Nigel Farage who calls immigration enforcement ‘divisive’, wants an amnesty for illegal immigrants who’ve ‘integrated’, and says mass deportation is a ‘political impossibility’. You cannot trust a word he says.
“While Farage churns out soundbites based on totally unfunded and uncosted plans that would leave hard working families forced to pay for them through tax rises, the Conservatives are doing the hard graft. Our Deportation Bill will disapply the Human Rights Act, deport every foreign criminal, and close the legal loopholes Labour won’t touch. If the ECHR stands in the way, we’ll leave it.”
Labour accuses Reform of ‘headline-chasing’
Labour Chair Ellie Reeves said: “Nigel Farage repeatedly tried to block tough measures to make our streets safer.
“Reform is more interested in headline-chasing than serious policy-making in the interests of the British people. Farage’s Reform MPs voted against the Labour Government’s landmark Crime and Policing Bill which tackles antisocial behaviour, shoplifting, violence against women and girls, knife crime, and child abuse. The public deserves better than ill-thought-through slogans and unfunded policy commitments.
“Unlike Reform, this Labour government is backing up its words with action. Through our Plan for Change, we’re putting 13,000 neighbourhood police back on the beat, clamping down on the crimes blighting our communities and building a safer, fairer country for us all.”
Britain and India to sign trade deal
Downing Street confirms that Keir Starmer and Narendra Modi are due to sign a trade deal on Thursday during the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to the UK.
Prisoners could be sent to Kosovo, Estonia
Farage says more details will come over the next six weeks
Farage says ‘open fight’ going on with council officials
Farage says there will be ‘one hell of a cultural battle’ and a Reform government will need to leave the ECHR
Farage wants to deport 10,500 foreign criminals
The UK will take British prisoners from other parts of the world in return, says Farage.
Says UK could impose visa restrictions on countries that refuse to take them.
Says Nightingale prisons would be for a lower category of offender
We are getting close to mass civil disobedience
Farage says he understands how ‘concerned familes’ in Epping feel.
He says he won’t have to raise taxes to pay for his plans
Cost would be £17.4bn
Farage says the nation can’t afford not to do this
Says Reform would axe HS2 and expensive net zero policies
Ian Huntley could serve his prison term in El Salvador
Some criminals could serve time oversees says Farage, and he cites Ian Huntley as an example
Recruit former soldiers as cops
Farage says Reform would recruit former armed forces personnel as police, and ask retired magistrates to come back.
People convicted of 3 offences “on course” for life imprisonment.
Reform would work with private contractors to build up to 12,000 prison places quickly. And deport foreign prisoners
Fast track arrests
Pop up custody suites will be opened if needed says Farage.
Will recruit 30,000 police over 5 years. Aim for a higher and physically tougher standard of police officer. And Reform will scrap diversity roles in n forces.
Tourists are reluctant to come to London
Farage says New York solved a huge crime problem by dealing with problems at ‘ground level’ and prosecuting small crimes.
In the UK we have become “lax” on supposedly small crimes, he says.
“If you are a criminal I am putting you on notice today”
We are facing societal collapse
Some official figure show crime falling but more reliable figures show it increasing says Farage
People believe they have two tier justice under two tier Keir, says Farage. People are scared to leave their homes
One in three people in London have been victims of phone theft.
A relative was punched near Victoria station and a phone stolen says Farage. It had a tracker but police took no action.
This country is experiencing two-tier justice
Sarah Pochin says the UK has a two tier justice system, and she will lead Reform’s campaign over six weeks to highlight Reform’s policy proposals
Police should be impartial
Sarah Pochin says Reform will ensure police are impartial. And prevent defendants in court playing the “anxiety card”.
She says many offenders claim benefits
‘Two tier justice’
Sarah Pochin says people are being jailed for tweets while shoplifters go free.
She says theft and sexual violence are linked to immigration. ‘The British people will not be lied to any more’ she says
Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin (Image: Getty)
‘We need to restore discipline and respect’
New Reform MP Sarah Pochin, a former magistrate, says 20 years ago she dealt with shoplifters in court, but now this is a crime police just ignore.
‘I’m scared when my children go out’
Laila Cunningham, the former Tory councillor who defected to Reform, says she is frightened when her children go out – but her husband fears she will be stabbed one day.
But she says people are being prosecuted for so-called hate crimes when real criminals go free
Laila Cunningham speaks at the press conference (Image: Getty)
Britain is lawless, says Farage
Nigel Farage pledged to return law and order back to Britain as the press conference begins.
The Reform UK leader speaks at the press conference (Image: Getty)
Doctors strike will hit quarter of a million appointments
An alarming new report from Policy Exchange lays bare the widespread disruption that BMA strikes, scheduled to begin on Friday, are likely to cause to patients, with the think tank estimating almost quarter of a million appointments across the NHS in England could be affected at the end of July alone.
Ready for Nigel Farage’s press conference
Dramatic and dark staging for Nigel Farage’s press conference. The room is dotted with screens showing examples of criminals that commited horrific offences.
The slogan on the podium is “Britain is lawless”.
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Mel going nowhere in Tory reshuffle
Am hearing that shadow chancellor Mel Stride will remain in the role if Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch shakes-up her top team
Pensions have also been making headlines this morning
Ministers are to resurrect the Pensions Commission amid fears that today’s workers face a greater risk of poverty in retirement than their parents.
Experts have warned that people looking to retire in 2050 are on course to receive £800 per year less than current pensioners.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said 45% of working-age adults were putting nothing into their pensions.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said she was turning to the Pensions Commission, which last met in 2006, to “tackle the barriers that stop too many saving in the first place”.
The previous commission recommended automatically enrolling people in workplace pensions, which has seen the number of eligible employees saving rise from 55% in 2012 to 88%.
DWP analysis suggested 15 million people were undersaving for retirement, with the self-employed, low paid and some ethnic minorities particularly affected.
Read the full story here
Half of Britons believe UK ‘becoming a lawless country’
A recent Survation poll found 49% of people thought the UK was “becoming a lawless country”.
Overall, crime has generally fallen over the past decade, but rose last year driven mainly by sharp increases in fraud and theft.
Dame Diana Johnson, the policing minister, said: “If Nigel Farage was serious about making our streets safer, he should have backed the tough new laws we introduced earlier this year.
“It’s shameful that Reform constantly seeks to undermine confidence in our police and criminal justice system and voted to try to block measures to crack down on knife crime, anti-social behaviour, shop theft, child sexual abuse, and long overdue action to tackle the scourge of violence against women and girls.
“They should focus more on practical solutions to support our police, combat crime, deliver justice for victims of crime, rather than chasing headlines, spouting slogans and trying to divide communities.”
Reform pledges to be ‘toughest party on law and order’
Nigel Farage is set to announce a series of tough-on-crime measures on Monday as he seeks to set out more of Reform UK’s policies.
The Reform leader is expected to use a speech in London to vow to cut crime in half, declaring his party to be “the toughest party on law and order this country has ever seen”.
Among his promises will be a pledge to recruit 30,000 new police officers; end early release for prisoners convicted of serious violent, sexual or knife offences; and deport 10,400 foreign offenders currently in British jails.
He will also propose a major prison-building programme aiming to provide an extra 30,000 places to alleviate the prison overcrowding that prompted the Government to expand early release schemes.
Mr Farage will say: “We will cut crime in half. We will take back control of our streets, we will take back control of our courts and prisons.”
Another big issue in the news
The state of Britain’s water sector is also dominating headlines this morning.
A damning report into the industry has called for water regulator Ofwat to be axed.
Read more here
Nigel Farage talks about the water industry
Reform to cage Britain’s most depraved criminals
Twisted criminals like child-killer Ian Huntley would be sent to jails in El Salvador to serve their sentences under a Reform UK government.
Party leader Nigel Farage is today set to unveil plans to rent prison space overseas — including in Central America — to cage Britain’s most depraved murderers and paedophiles.
The proposed scheme would see more than 10,000 serious offenders locked up in “partner” nations — with a Reform source yesterday confirming: “We would consider multiple partners including El Salvador.”
Good morning
We’ll be bringing you the latest political news throughout the day.
There will be a press conference by Nigel Farage later this morning.
You can read more about what the Reform UK leader is set to announce here.
