Nigel Farage has revealed details of internal Home Office documents which show that Rishi Sunak’s promise to deport people who had arrived here illegally within weeks was not possible.
Farage said that the Prime Minister’s claims to stop the boats were hampered by rules which allow illegal migrants to delay deportation by up to 180 days.
They also showed the backlog to enter the system for removal could, by the middle of 2026 reach somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000.
Speaking on GB News Nigel Farage said:
“As a steady trickle of dinghies began to make their way across in 2018,19 and into 2020, it seemed to me that as virtually nobody was being deported and as there were really quite significant prizes for getting to the United Kingdom, that we might as well put a sign on the White Cliffs of Dover saying, ‘Everyone welcome’.
“And that was when I started going out into the channel on boats filming dinghies and saying, this is an important story. This trickle of young males crossing the Channel will, in case we’re not careful, turn into a flood tide.
“100,000 people later, I can say that I've proved to be right and, as a result of this, it shot up the political agenda.
“There is something about the imagery of this and the unfairness of people being put into four star hotels, getting pocket money, getting dental care, getting medical care.
“And what we've seen is a succession of Home Secretaries and Prime Ministers making a series of promises.
“But the biggest, and the most dramatic promise was made by Rishi Sunak on the 7th March, last year.
“I have seen Home Office documents that show us that at the exact time that the Prime Minister was telling us this, he and the government were being briefed within the Home Office that illegal migrants can still delay removal for 180 days, despite what was being proposed.
“But the backlog to enter the system for removal could, by the middle of 2026 reach somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000.
“And yet all migrants in the backlog would be kept in non-detained accommodation and the risk of migrants absconding is high.
“Yes, I know the government's in real trouble on this. I know it's looking for magic solutions, but why they think that telling us things that legally simply aren't true, is somehow going to make their case better, I find politically quite baffling.
“We need to have an honest conversation. I’m afraid that the Illegal Migration Act and everything you’ve been told by this Prime Minister has been totally dishonest.”
