Reform UK’s plan to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a Bill of Rights will see British citizens prioritised over foreigners, the party has claimed.
Nigel Farage is this week set to unveil his proposals for mass deportations of asylum seekers who come to the UK on small boats.
The first step of Reform’s plan is to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and to scrap the Human Rights Act, which enshrines the convention in British law.
This would then be replaced by a British Bill of Rights, which would only apply to British citizens and those who have a legal right to live in the UK.
The legislation would not include any reference to human rights but instead refer to terms such as ‘protection of liberty’ and ‘free speech’, The Times reported.
Zia Yusuf, one of Reform’s most senior figures, said: ‘It will have nothing in it to help activist judges to stop flights taking off.
‘It will prioritise the rights of British citizens over foreign ones. We are not going to flinch. We’re not going to be intimidated.
‘We are going to deliver for the British people. It’s the only way to restore this country. To stop the invasion from happening.’
Nigel Farage is this week set to unveil his proposals for mass deportations of asylum seekers who come to the UK on small boats
A group of people, believed to be migrants, are pictured on a small boat near Gravelines, northern France
Mr Farage wants to sever Britain’s link with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights
Mr Farage will use a press conference on Tuesday to publish his party’s plans for dealing with the Channel migrant crisis, should he become prime minister.
Arresting asylum seekers on arrival, automatic detention and forced deportation to countries such as Afghanistan and Eritrea are among the proposals.
They also include deals with third countries – which could include reviving the Tories’ Rwanda scheme – and sending asylum seekers to British overseas territories such as Ascension Island as a ‘fallback’ option.
Mr Farage has claimed the plans could see hundreds of thousands of people deported and five charter flights taking off from the UK every day.
The Reform leader said a British Bill of Rights would include ‘the freedom to do everything, unless there’s a law that says you can’t’.
He added: ‘The opposite to that is the concept of human rights, which are state-given. We have got academics working on it. There is a huge amount to do.’
Angela Eagle, Labour’s border security minister, said: ‘Nigel Farage is simply plucking numbers out of the air, another pie in the sky policy from a party that will say anything for a headline.
‘We are getting a grip of the broken asylum system. Making sure those with no right to be here are removed or deported.’
Chris Philp, the Tory shadow home secretary, said: ‘This big reveal is just recycling many ideas the Conservatives have already announced.
‘Nigel Farage previously claimed mass deportations were impossible, and now he says it’s his policy. Who knows what he’ll say next.’
