Reform UK pledges to hold national inquiry into 'Boriswave' migration surge

Dan McDonald
Mon, 13 Apr 2026 03:05:49 +0000

Reform UK has pledged told hold an unprecedented national inquiry into the so-called "Boriswave" migration surge.

Nigel Farage would haul in Boris Johnson and Dame Priti Patel to testify in a national investigation into the staggering number of migrants who arrived in Britain under the Tories - should he be handed the keys to Downing Street.

Mr Farage intends to launch the probe over fears that 1.6 million migrants expected to gain Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK between 2026 and 2030 will devastate the public finances.

Party insiders told the Express the inquiry would examine whether Mr Johnson and Dame Priti's actions in Government amounted gross negligence rising to the level of criminal conduct.

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Reform's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf said: "Boris Johnson perpetrated one of the biggest scandals in British history by throwing open our borders to millions who are now set to destroy the country's finances.

"A Reform Government will launch a national inquiry to reveal exactly what happened and how.

"Boris himself will be forced to testify, under penalty of perjury. He will be held to account."

The Conservatives, however, have dismissed the proposal as political posturing.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp responded: "This is a piece of cheap party political theatrics that will cost taxpayers millions to mask Reform's lack of actual policies or solutions."

Mr Philp, a Home Office Minister while the "Boriswave" begun, insisted his party had changed under Kemi Badenoch's leadership and now had concrete plans to address immigration.

The Conservatives want to European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and prohibiting asylum applications from those who enter illegally.

The party would also establish a parliamentary vote on annual immigration caps - set below the level it oversaw in power.

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Reform UK has published analysis revealing the "Boriswave" of migration will burden each British household with £20,000 in costs.

Approximately 1.6 million individuals who relocated to Britain under Mr Johnson and subsequent Tory PMs between 2021 and 2024 are expected to receive ILR.

The party's report calculates that NHS treatment, welfare payments and infrastructure expansion will total as much as £622.5billion in real terms through to 2085.

This sum represents triple the annual NHS budget and 10 times Britain's defence spending.

Mr Yusuf declared: "We are standing on the edge of a fiscal disaster. The Boriswave is a legacy of Tory incompetence and Labour's open border ideology."

The former Prime Minister relaxed Britain's immigration rules to address labour shortages following the pandemic.

Net migration skyrocketed to an unprecedented 944,000 in the year ending March 2023.

Mr Johnson and his Conservative successors went on to grant 3.8 million long-term visas - leading to net migration of 2.6 million people.

Between 1.6 and 2.2 million of these arrivals will qualify for permanent settlement, granting them full access to the welfare state.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who herself has attacked the "Boriswave" by name, has committed to extending the qualifying period for permanent residency.

But she faces pressure to soften these measures following a rebellion led by former Deputy PM Angela Rayner.

Under Labour's current proposals, migrants would wait 10 to 15 years before applying for settlement rights - up from the current five.

Those dependent on state support would face a 20 to 30-year wait for ILR.

But Reform UK plans to scrapping it entirely, replacing it with five-year renewable visas.

The party would also end all welfare payments to non-citizens and withdraw from the ECHR.