Starmer warns Reform's plans put Britain ‘on par with Russia and Belarus’ as Farage vows to leave ECHR

Mr Farage said on Tuesday that Britain would leave the convention if he won the next election “no ifs, no buts”.

The British Bill of Rights would replace the Human Rights Act, which enshrines the convention in law, under Reform's plans. This would only apply to British citizens and those who have a legal right to live in the UK.

Sir Keir has warned that doing so would put the country in the same “camp” as Russia and Belarus.

“Let’s be clear: the ECHR underpins key international agreements on trade, security, migration and the Good Friday agreement. Anyone who is proposing to renegotiate the Good Friday agreement is not serious.

“We’re focused on the very serious policies to address this issue rather than a return to the gimmicks, the slogans, the chaos of the previous government,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.

Mr Farage has long supported leaving the ECHR, but said on Tuesday that the Good Friday Agreement could be "renegotiated" to remove references to the convention.

His comments came during a press conference at London Oxford Airport, where he and Reform chairman Zia Yusuf were launching their party’s plans to tackle illegal migration.

Speaking as he launched Reform UK's migration policy at Oxford Airport, Nigel Farage was joined on stage by Zia Yusuf, Reform's newly appointed "head of DOGE" (Department of Government Efficiency) following his resignation as party chairman earlier this year.

Mr Yusuf insisted the deportation of 500,000 or 600,000 over the course of a five-year parliament was "totally" possible - a plan that would cost an estimated £10 billion over five years.

The immigration crackdown continues to top Reform's agenda, with Mr Farage launching what he called "Operation Restoring Justice" from behind a lectern.

Noting his party's policy would "immediately" stop the boats, the MP for Clacton pledged to withdraw the UK from the ECHR should he become PM.

Suggesting raids would take place across the country under a Reform government in a bid to remove illegal migrants, Mr Farage suggested "goodness only knows what this country will look like" without removals in 10 years time.

Taking to the stage on Tuesday, the Reform leader claimed his party's policy had the potential to save the UK "hundreds of billions" of pounds by 2034.

The party failed to detail how such measures would be funded.

Read more: Zia Yusuf returns to Reform 48 hours after quitting party, admitting he was 'blindsided' by burqa ban comments

Read more: UK 'ready' to deport 100 migrants 'within weeks' to tackle small-boats crisis

Asked by LBC's Natasha Clarke why the public should believe the party's policy pledges, Mr Farage reiterated that "every Prime Minister since David Cameron has said clearly if you come to Britain illegally, you will be removed and they all do it and none deliver."

"I think they say it because they think the public wants to hear it rather than they actually mean it," Mr Farage continued.

"The fundamental point of your question is correct, that the social contract that exists in this country between those that work and pay their taxes and those that govern them is at a very, very fragile moment, that trust in politics and trust in politicians, frankly, it's certainly never been lower in my lifetime and I think you might have to go back a long way in history to find a parallel period, so the restoring of that trust is absolutely vital.

"A lot of people around the country who say they're going to vote Reform believe that we're pretty much the last shot, pretty much the last shot, that if we don't win that election and start putting in place some of the very necessary changes that are needed, then goodness only knows what this country will look like in 10 years time.

"Goodness only knows how many more talented people will have left, not just the ultra rich, but the young, ambitious, hard working, so it is vital that we do this."

Farage went to insist the UK was in a "fiscal doom loop" as he hit out at "activist judges".

It comes just hours after Sir Keir Starmer announced his government's plan to implement his one in, one out migrant deal "within weeks" after renewed pressure from ministers.

Insisting an "industrial complex" of human rights lawyers were working to keep illegal migrants in the country, Mr Yusuf set out a stark image of Britain.

He also outlined plans to return immigrants to Afghanistan.

Under the plans, people could be arrested on arrival in the UK, detained on disused RAF bases, before being returned to Afghanistan, Eritrea and other nations if agreements can be reached.

Taking questions, Mr Farage was asked how he would deport immigrants and whether task forces would eventually walk the streets. He was also pushed on whether his policy would apply to those who came to the UK under Windrush.

Mr Farage went on to brand Windrush a "mess-up over paperwork," insisting the deportation of all illegal immigrants is "what normal people do".

Touching on the Online Safety Act, Mr Farage insisted the move was curtailing free speech.

Hitting out at both Labour and the Conservatives, Nigel Farage added he would also repeal the Human Rights Act from 1998.

"If you come here illegally, you will be apprehended and deported and never, ever allowed to stay," Mr Farage insisted.

The policy unveiling comes as the government revealed more than 100 asylum seekers have been detained for deportation to France, as the Prime Minister attempts to crack down on migration, according to The Times.

The government's efforts will also include deterring signs in asylum seeker camps in France, warning “Get on a small boat and you will be deported".

Six boats reportedly launched from France on Monday and 212 asylum seekers made the crossing on Sunday.

Nightingale-style bases could house detained migrants, Farage suggested.

Zia Yusuf took to the stage as part of the reveal, insisting Reform would "immediately stop the boats from coming" using "immediate removal".

Vowing that the UK would leave the ECHR under a Reform government and become "powerful again", Mr Yusuf also hit out at "activist lawyers" he says were helping asylum seekers appeal, abscond and remain in the UK.

Insisting "deportation is the ultimate deterrent," Mr Yusuf unveiled what he branded an all-new "deportation command".

Those "deliberately destroying identity documents" or attempting to "re-enter the UK after deportation" could face up to 5 years in prison, he insisted.

"If a country refuses to take back illegal migrants, we will refuse to hand out visas to that country," he insisted.

"Those who obey the rules have to pay for those who break them."

Unveiling "Operation Restoring Justice", Mr Yusuf told the media of his party's five-year emergency programme to "track down, detain and deport all illegal immigrants in the United Kingdom".

"It will also immediately stop the boats from coming," he said.

Branding it an "iron-clad consequence," Mr Yusuf continued: "We'll create a legal obligation for the home secretary to deport everyone illegally in the country".

"And we'll dis-apply all international treaties that are used to keep illegal migrants in this country.

"And, yes, that means disapplying the 1951 Refugee Convention and the UN convention against torture and the Council of Europe anti-trafficking convention."That is a non-exhaustive list."