Council leader hits out at Reform plan

REFORM UK's plans to deport thousands of asylum seekers have been plucked “from thin air”, Newcastle's council leader says.

- DANIEL HOLLAND

Nigel Farage has announced his party's intention to deport up to 600,000 asylum seekers in a single parliament if it was in power, pledging to scale up detention centres and seek deals with countries like Iran and Afghanistan to send back migrants.

The unveiling of “Operation Restoring Justice” yesterday came after weeks of mounting pressure on Labour over small boat crossings and the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.

Last Saturday brought another protest in Newcastle city centre against a migrant hotel, which was again met by a counter-demo led by the Newcastle Unites group and Stand Up To Racism.