Nigel Farage 'reduced to tears' over ECHR rule which saw Albanian criminal's deportation 'halted over chicken nuggets'
10 February 2025, 10:31 | Updated: 10 February 2025, 10:43
Nick Ferrari speaks to Nigel Farage 10/02 | Watch again
Nigel Farage has told LBC he "just wants to cry" over claims human rights rules led to the halting of an Albanian criminal’s deportation over foreign chicken nuggets.
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Mr Farage's comments come after it was revealed the Albanian criminal had his deportation halted, in part, because his son had a distaste for foreign chicken nuggets, alongside a number of other sensory issues.
Klevis Disha, 39, was found to have entered the UK illegally as an unaccompanied minor, with an immigration tribunal ruling it would be "unduly harsh" for his 10-year-old son to return to Albania with his father owing to food sensitivities.
Speaking exclusively with Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, the Reform UK leader hit out at on the judge's ruling alongside other similar cases, claiming deportations are being negatively impacted by the European Constitution of Human Rights (ECHR).
"I know, you read this stuff and you just want to cry," Mr Farage said.
"And this is all because of the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into British law, which our judges rule on again, and again, and again."
It comes as Nigel Farage threw his weight behind farmers staging a tractor protest outside Parliament on Monday, urging them to keep up the pressure against Labour’s planned inheritance tax changes.
Nigel Farage reacts to Chicken Nugget deportation scandal
"The government, today, will put out their videos of them deporting people who are here illegally. What they won’t tell you is that half of those who have gone have gone voluntarily, some have been given money to go," Mr Farage added.
Posing a questions to Yvette Cooper, Mr Starmer said: "How many of those who have crossed the channel in small boats, since he became Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, how many of those have been deported?
Adding: "And I think the answer is zero."
Speaking with Nick on Monday, the Reform leader also weighed in on the prospect of possible by-elections after a second Labour MP was caught up in a WhatsApp group where homophobic, sexist and anti-Semitic messages were sent.
MP for Burnley Oliver Ryan has been exposed as the second Labour politician to be part of a vile WhatsApp group named "Trigger Me Timbers."
It comes after Health Minister Andrew Gwynne was sacked and suspended from the Labour Party on Saturday over his comments in the group.
Confirming his party's sights are now firmly set on the newly available seats in the North of England, Mr Farage added: "We're coming for the Labour vote".
"If there were by-elections in the North of England, I think Reform would be in a very strong position to win them," Farage told LBC.
"We’ve had a phenomenal, a phenomenal few months with momentum behind the party. We hit our 200,000th paid member yesterday and you know what? We’ve coming for that Labour vote," he added.
"All the journalists talk about that rivalry between me and Kemi Badenoch and Boris - but it’s the Labour vote we’re after. And that’s where our big gains are coming."
Speaking out on immigration off the back of Mr Disha's case, the Reform leader told Nick that it was time to remove barriers put in place by the ECHR.
Disha, who could still be forced to leave the UK, was stripped of his citizenship in 2021 after serving two years in prison when he was caught with £300,000 known to be proceeds of crime.
Following his conviction it was found he had acquired his citizenship “through deception”.
But an immigration tribunal ruled it would be "unduly harsh" for his 10-year-old son, known as 'C' in court documents, to return to Albania with his father owing to food sensitivities, sensory issues and difficulties communicating emotions.
Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Border Security Minister Dame Angela Eagle revealed the Home Secretary had appealed the decision.
She told Nick: "The Home Secretary actually appealed that as soon as soon as it became clear that is the decision that's been made, that is not a final decision yet. The court processes aren't over yet. When we appeal things they often get overturned."
