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Farage Row: Pledge to Deport Illegal Migrant Women and Girls Sparks Backlash

1. The Original, Controversial Pledge

On August 26, 2025, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage launched a high-profile immigration policy dubbed Operation Restoring Justice. He pledged to detain and deport up to 600,000 illegal migrants over five years, upon winning the next general election. The plan called for immediate deportation of all unauthorized arrivals—including women and children—a sweeping and absolutist approach. 

These proposals included:

• Withdrawing from key international protections like the European Convention on Human Rights, 1951 Refugee Convention, and associated UK human rights frameworks. 

• Constructing detention facilities capable of housing thousands, RAF-led deportation flights, and incentive-based voluntary return schemes.  

• Negotiating deportation agreements with countries including Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, and potentially the Taliban, who reportedly indicated readiness to accept deportees. 

2. Immediate Backlash and Legal Condemnation

Farage’s pledges ignited widespread criticism:

• Legal experts denounced the proposals as authoritarian and likely illegal, warning the UK courts could still block such removals.  

• Human rights groups and political opponents condemned the morality and practicality of deporting vulnerable groups, particularly to regimes with questionable human rights records.  

3. Dramatic U-Turns Follow

Within 24–48 hours, Farage began retracting:

• At one public event, he reiterated that “women and children, everybody on arrival, will be detained.”  

• But soon after, at a press conference in Broxburn, he claimed that women and children weren’t even being discussed at this stage and framed earlier reports as outright wrong.  

• Clarifying again, he stated that while single adult females would be deported, deporting children or women with children was “more complicated” and would not be part of the first five years.  

4. Public and Political Fallout

These rapid reversals fueled widespread criticism:

• Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper called the deportations a “Taliban tribute,” condemning the idea of deporting Afghan women and children while spending taxpayer money to facilitate it.  

• Refugee charities, including Care4Calais, voiced horror at detaining vulnerable groups, urging humane and rights-respecting approaches.  

• Within Reform UK, internal dissonance surfaced. Party figures including Zia Yusuf had voiced inclusion of women and children, while Farage later pulled back, exposing conflicting messaging.  

• Press coverage lambasted the confusion: Sky News likened the policy toggles to a “Hokey Cokey”—first included, then excluded, then partially affirmed.  

Attached is a News article regarding farage pledge to deport illegal migrant women and girls 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce83x1457lyo.amp

Article written and configured by Christopher Stanley