Nigel Farage is speaking at a press conference in Edinburgh after his party unveiled plans to deport up to 600,000 asylum seekers in its first parliament if elected to government.
The SNP branded the Reform UK leader “one of the most disastrous politicians” and “extraordinarily damaging”.
Reform UK describes its “operation restoring justice” as a five-year emergency programme to detain and deport illegal migrants and deter future arrivals that they would enact if elected to government.
SNP MP Stephen Gethins questioned parts of the policy – which could see a future UK government potentially work with the Taliban to send people back to Afghanistan, with Britain also leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.
He argued that Brexit – which Farage campaigned for – had “pushed up the small boats crisis” in the UK, as it means those seeking asylum are forced to do so in the first country they arrive in.
Reform pledged to scale up detention capacity for asylum seekers to 24,000 and secure deals with countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea and Iran to return migrants.
However, Farage failed to answer when asked how much he would be prepared to pay Iran and the Taliban to take deportees back.
No 10 swerved criticising Reform UK’s proposals to reach returns deals with countries with chequered human rights records.
Asked whether the Government could seek deals with Afghanistan and Eritrea, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “We’re not going to take anything off the table in terms of striking returns agreements with countries around the world.”
The official denied Farage’s claim that the country was at risk of civil disorder while stressing ministers “recognise the strength of feeling about this”.
“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,” Sir Keir’s spokesman said.
Farage said everyone who arrives on a small boat would be detained, including women and unaccompanied children.
Reform UK claims the plan will cost £10bn to implement but save £7bn currently spent on illegal migration during the first five years.
The party would leave the European Convention on Human Rights and replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights, which would apply only to British citizens and those who have a legal right to live in the UK.
They would also bring forward legislation to make everyone who arrives illegally ineligible for asylum and allow asylum seekers to be detained until deportation.
Farage said: “The mood in the country around this issue is a mix between total despair and rising anger.
“And I would say this, that without action, without somehow the contract between the Government and the people being renewed, without some trust coming back, then I fear deeply that that anger will grow.
“In fact, I think there is now, as a result of this, a genuine threat to public order.”
It comes as the Government prepares to send back the first small boat arrivals to France under the one-in, one-out migrant deal.
A record 28,947 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats this year, after 659 migrants did so on Monday in nine boats.
The UK coastguard confirmed its involvement in the rescue of “a number” of small boat crossings from the English Channel on Tuesday.
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