This is an extract from Nigel Farage’s latest essay. Read it in full and subscribe to his Substack here.
Last month, a gang of migrants stabbed a man to death in a French seaside resort. By the time his body was found, his suspected killers were already across the English Channel, crammed among the 165 migrants who boarded a dinghy the size of a London bus, escorted by the French, then collected by British border security to be brought into port.
It used to be that English criminals fleeing justice would head to France to join the French Foreign Legion. Nowadays, foreign criminals looking for lucrative new hunting grounds head to England from France, and dump their documents in the Channel.
Men like Karin Al-Danasurt, who fled a murder conviction in Egypt before gang-raping a woman in Brighton. Men like Lwangeen Abdulrahimzai, who posed as a child after murdering two men in Serbia, who was flagged as a potential terrorist, and who went on to murder Tom Roberts, a 21-year-old engineer with his whole life ahead of him. Men like Karam Majdi, who threw away his papers, claimed to be Syrian, and raped a child.
I speak from first-hand experience. Fayaz Khan, an Afghan migrant with an AK-47 tattooed on his face, threatened to kill me. He crossed the channel on an inflatable boat. Thankfully, he was arrested and jailed. But far too many people like him are still free on our streets, and still making the journey.
So you can believe me when I say this: a Reform government would stop the boats. And a Reform government would send the illegal migrants back.
We have set out plans to deploy the Royal Navy in the Channel and end the invasion of Britain once and for all. Protecting Britain from invasion by sea, after all, is what the Navy is for. We’re not the first party to suggest it. The difference is that we mean it.
Our plan is different. The Royal Navy has kept Britain safe from the threat of invasion for centuries. Under a Reform government, it would no longer have its hands tied behind its back. The mission would be simple: Stop the Invasion of Britain. Save British lives. And save migrant lives too.
The Channel is a dangerous place. For as long as the illegal crossings continue, we will have tragedies like those we saw last week. So-called “safe and legal” routes would dramatically worsen the problem. We do not want these military-age, unvetted men coming to Britain by boat or plane, adding to the numbers while crossings continue.
Our plan is straightforward. Every boat launched into the Channel will be detected and intercepted. The people on the boats will be detained, transferred to an appropriate safe vessel, and piloted back to French shores.
The Invasion of Britain must stop. The deaths in the Channel must stop. And under Reform, they will.
Last month, a gang of migrants stabbed a man to death in a French seaside resort. By the time his body was found, his suspected killers were already across the English Channel, crammed among the 165 migrants who boarded a dinghy the size of a London bus, escorted by the French, then collected by British border security to be brought into port.
It used to be that English criminals fleeing justice would head to France to join the French Foreign Legion. Nowadays, foreign criminals looking for lucrative new hunting grounds head to England from France, and dump their documents in the Channel.
Men like Karin Al-Danasurt, who fled a murder conviction in Egypt before gang-raping a woman in Brighton. Men like Lwangeen Abdulrahimzai, who posed as a child after murdering two men in Serbia, who was flagged as a potential terrorist, and who went on to murder Tom Roberts, a 21-year-old engineer with his whole life ahead of him. Men like Karam Majdi, who threw away his papers, claimed to be Syrian, and raped a child.
I speak from first-hand experience. Fayaz Khan, an Afghan migrant with an AK-47 tattooed on his face, threatened to kill me. He crossed the channel on an inflatable boat. Thankfully, he was arrested and jailed. But far too many people like him are still free on our streets, and still making the journey.
So you can believe me when I say this: a Reform government would stop the boats. And a Reform government would send the illegal migrants back.
We have set out plans to deploy the Royal Navy in the Channel and end the invasion of Britain once and for all. Protecting Britain from invasion by sea, after all, is what the Navy is for. We’re not the first party to suggest it. The difference is that we mean it.
Our plan is different. The Royal Navy has kept Britain safe from the threat of invasion for centuries. Under a Reform government, it would no longer have its hands tied behind its back. The mission would be simple: Stop the Invasion of Britain. Save British lives. And save migrant lives too.
The Channel is a dangerous place. For as long as the illegal crossings continue, we will have tragedies like those we saw last week. So-called “safe and legal” routes would dramatically worsen the problem. We do not want these military-age, unvetted men coming to Britain by boat or plane, adding to the numbers while crossings continue.
Our plan is straightforward. Every boat launched into the Channel will be detected and intercepted. The people on the boats will be detained, transferred to an appropriate safe vessel, and piloted back to French shores.
The Invasion of Britain must stop. The deaths in the Channel must stop. And under Reform, they will.
