Farage rows back on small boats pledge after one day

Nigel Farage has rowed back on a pledge he made to the party's conference to stop small boat crossings within two weeks of taking office, just one day after making it.

- MILLIE COOKE POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

His U-turn came as Reform UK’s conference entered its second day in Birmingham, with key party figures taking aim at the chaos within the Labour government and calling for an early election as the party set out its plan for government.

The Reform UK leader had told an audience at the conference on Friday that it would take a fortnight of him entering Downing Street to halt small boat arrivals, if he won an election.

But yesterday, Mr Farage backtracked on the claim, telling Sky News: “I didn’t say that”. He instead said Reform would stop the boats within two weeks of passing their proposed legislation.

The party has proposed quitting the European Convention on Human Rights and repealing the Human Rights Act to be replaced with a British bill of rights - a process which is likely to take more than a year.

Mr Farage also said he would introduce similar laws to those passed by former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott over a decade ago to stop arrivals from Indonesia. “As soon as the law is in place. As soon as you have the ability to detain and deport, you'll stop it in two weeks,” he clarified to the BBC.

On Friday, the Reform leader had said: “You cannot come here illegally and stay — we will stop the boats within two weeks of winning government.”

It's the second time Mr Farage has sparked confusion with his migration policy over the last month, after he went back and forth on whether or not the party would deport women and children.

Yesterday, he confirmed he would deport female asylum seekers back to the Taliban in Afghanistan if he wins the next election.