Farage’s 600,000 deportation threat draws Starmer fury

Keir Starmer has retaliated against Nigel Farage after the Reform UK leader unveiled significant plans for mass deportations of migrants.

The Prime Minister shared four images of people being deported, accompanied by a single sentence: "If you come to this country illegally, you will face detention and return."

This follows No10’s statement that Mr. Starmer disagrees with Mr. Farage’s assertion that Britain is on the brink of civil disorder due to dissatisfaction with small boat migrants. Downing Street stated that the PM is "angry" about the crisis and the expense of asylum hotels but emphasized that the Government is concentrating on "serious" solutions to the problem, rather than gimmicks.

Earlier today, Mr. Farage gave a speech on migration in which he claimed he could deport up to 600,000 asylum seekers in its first parliament if elected to government. However, his plans to detain women and children and deport vulnerable people to war-torn countries were quickly dismantled.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Mr Starmer is frustrated at the small boats crisis and the pressure it is putting on Britain’s systems. He said: "It makes him angry frankly, because it’s unfair on ordinary working people who pay the price from the cost of hotels to our public services struggling under the strain.

"That’s why we’re taking the action we are, to recognise the strength of feeling about this. The pressure that it puts on public services and that’s why we’re taking serious practical action to address this issue, not just returning back to the old gimmicks, the old solutions that failed to deal with this."

Mr Starmer’s spokesman was asked whether he agreed with Reform UK’s leader who told an event in Oxford that he believed the country was at risk of civil disorder. He said: "No, and I think what the Prime Minister is focused on is dealing with the concerns that people have. People have understandably have felt like their living standards have stagnated over the last 15 years, and that’s why growing the economy and raising living standards is the Government’s number one priority."

Mr Farage unveiled draconian proposals for mass deportations of asylum seekers - with plans to lock up women and children. The Reform UK leader was accused of having fantasy plans with little detail provided on the practicality of deportation flights or on the costings of the proposals. And his inflammatory language was branded "reprehensible" after he appeared sanguine about failed asylum seekers being tortured or murdered if they were sent back after entering the UK illegally.

Mr Farage indicated that some 600,000 asylum seekers could be deported in the first parliament of a Reform UK government. And he pledged to scale up detention capacity for asylum seekers to 24,000. But when asked about the details of the plans, the Clacton MP gave flippant answers - simply saying his costs are accurate because his colleague is "really good at maths".