U.K.'s hard-right party pushes mass deportation plan

Nigel Farage, the leader of Britain's hard-right Reform UK party, said Tuesday that if he wins the next election he will leave the European Convention on Human Rights and immediately detain and deport anyone who arrives in the country illegally, including children.

- SYLVIA HUI

Farage laid out his plans following a significant rise in migrants who arrive by boat across the English Channel, and weeks of protests over the government's use of hotels to house asylum-seekers.

"If you come to the U.K. illegally, you will be detained and deported and never, ever allowed to stay, period," Farage told a news conference.

"The mood in the country around this issue is a mix between total despair and rising anger," he added, claiming there is now "a genuine threat to public order" if no action is taken.

He said the issue of "how we deal with children is much more complicated," but added: "Women and children, everybody on arrival will be detained."

Despite holding just four of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, Farage's party has gained momentum by seizing on public frustration over successive governments' inability to bring down the number of migrants coming by boat. National polls have suggested that support for Reform equals or surpasses that of the ruling Labour Party and the Conservatives.