Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has insisted his immigration proposals are consistent with Britain’s Judeo-Christian values, even if senior Church leaders reject them.
His policy, titled “Operation Restoring Justice,” would see all illegal Channel crossings, including those by women and children, met with deportation if his party forms the next government.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Farage was asked about faith in connection with his proposals, as he has previously said that Christian principles form the foundation of the country.
Giving the background of church leaders opposing the Rwanda Plan under the Conservative government, a Daily Mirror reporter asked Farage how he would react if his proposals to return asylum seekers to countries such as Afghanistan, Iran and Eritrea were strongly criticised by Christian leaders.
Farage responded with a claim that many bishops are "out of touch" with their congregations.
“Whoever the Christian leaders are at any given point in time, I think over the last decades, quite a few of them have been rather out of touch, perhaps with their own flock," he said. "Given the types of people appointed to be the Archbishop of Canterbury, that is probably the biggest understatement of the day.”
Farage acknowledged criticism from "The Establishment" and Church leaders was inevitable, but said genuine change always comes through struggle.
“We believe that what we are offering is right and proper, and we believe, for a political party that was founded around the slogan of family, community, country, that we are doing right by all of those things with these plans we put forward today,” he said.
“Somebody else asked me a moment ago about the pressures from The Establishment that we'll face. Yes, of course there will be pressures from The Establishment. Of course there will be condemnation from all sorts of parts of society, but no big fundamental change that advances people's lives ever comes without a battle against The Establishment, a battle against the existing interests…”
Farage said his party would take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights, scrap the Human Rights Act, and suspend international treaties that courts have used to block forced removals.
Labour has called the proposals an “unworkable gimmick”, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Reform UK of “copying our homework".
Farage’s announcement comes after weeks of protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers, fuelled by public safety concerns following arrests for sexual assault.
Meanwhile, new figures released on Tuesday show Britain received a record 108,100 asylum applications in 2024, nearly 20% higher than the year before, with most claims coming from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Bangladesh.
Reform UK said it could deport up to 600,000 people in its first term if it wins the next general election, which is due by 2029.
