Nigel Farage at Reform’s conference in Birmingham. (Image: Getty)
A Reform Government led by Nigel Farage would recruit “thousands” of agents for a new deportation force to throw out illegal migrants, Zia Yusuf has pledged. The party’s home affairs spokesman said existing Home Office officials could not be trusted to do the job.
And he warned that businesses would face surprise inspections to see if they were employing anyone without the right to work in the UK. Mr Yusuf compared the plan to spot checks carried out on restaurants to check hygiene standards.
Speaking at an Express event during Reform’s conference in Birmingham, Mr Yusuf said: “We will go basically from having an open border to having the most secure borders in the world.”
But stopping small boat crossings would not be enough, he said.
“It is not just about stopping the boats. That has to be done, and it will be done very quickly indeed. But it is also about deporting everyone who is in the country illegally.”
Mr Yusuf said: “We will have a new agency. We will have the Deportation Command. We will staff that and have thousands of agents.
“The Home Office is not fit for purpose.” He said Home Office officials saw themselves as “activists” supporting immigration and could not be relied on to oversee deportations.
Mr Yusuf also warned that mass migration was contributing to an unemployment crisis among young people, who found the entry-level jobs available to previous generations were now being done by migrants.
“They are competing with middle-aged men from other continents,” he said.
And he admitted some businesses would initially struggle to cope without a steady influx of migrant labour.
“Britain has become addicted to immigration. Yes, there will be some withdrawal symptoms.”
The Reform politician also said he had been speaking to other countries about potentially accepting foreign prisoners housed in UK jails, after previously saying they could be sent to El Salvador. But he said he was determined to ensure criminals sent abroad served their time, rather than simply being deported and allowed to go free in another country.