Farage gets 'confused' over his plans to deport children

Nigel Farage has rowed back on plans to deport children as part of Reform UK’s strategy to tackle illegal migration.

- MILLIE COOKE

The Reform leader had pledged on Tuesday to detain and deport up to 600,000 people with no right to be in the UK, including anyone who arrived in Britain after crossing the Channel in a small boat.

Asked if this number would include women and children, Mr Farage said: “Yes, women and children, everybody on arrival, will be detained.”

Mr Farage said he accepted that “how we deal with children is a much more complicated and difficult issue” and acknowledged that those protesting across the UK were not doing so “because of the few children coming”, but added that the “only way we will stop the boats is by detaining and deporting absolutely anyone” who crosses the Channel.

“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,” he said.

Meanwhile, senior Reform figure Zia Yusuf said “phase one” would focus on adults, and unaccompanied children would be sent back “towards the latter half of that five years”.

But yesterday, Mr Farage insisted at a press conference in Broxburn, West Lothian, that he had been “very, very clear” that the party was focused on “illegal males” and “not even discussing women and children at this stage”.

He added: “The news reports that said that after my conference yesterday were wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.” Pressed on whether he now meant women and children would be “exempt”, he said: “I didn’t say exempt forever, but at this stage it’s not part of our plan for the next five years.”