Nigel Farage calls for national emergency over arrival of people from ‘alien’ cultures

30 April 2025, 14:00

Nigel Farage has called on the Prime Minister to declare a national emergency, as he claimed thousands of migrants from cultures which are “alien” to British people are coming to the UK.

The Reform UK leader and MP for Clacton, said billions of pounds are being spent on housing “undocumented males” in hotels and rented accommodation.

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Farage said: “To date, so far this year, 10,000 young, undocumented males have illegally crossed the English Channel into our country, a 40% increase on this time last year.

“Many coming from cultures that are somewhat alien to ours. They are being housed at a cost of many billions of pounds a year in hotels and increasingly in private rented homes."

He said it was causing a sense of "deep unfairness" in communities, which is "bordering on resentment".

Mr Farage added: “In Runcorn alone, there are 750 of these young men. Is it not time to admit that ‘smash the gangs’ was nothing more than an election slowdown, not a policy? Isn’t it time to declare a national emergency and to act accordingly?”

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Sir Keir responded by saying the government is passing a borders Bill "with extensive powers to smash the gangs".

He said: “These are terrorist-like powers that give powers to the police to intercept where they think the suspects are committing people-smuggling, which is a vile trade.

"We must take back control of our borders after the last government lost control."

The Prime Minister also hit back at Mr Farage and Reform UK saying: “But what did he and his party do? Did they support those extra measures to actually smash the gangs? No, they went in the lobby with this lot in their new coalition to vote against them.

“And let’s be clear what a vote for his party means. It means a vote to charge for the NHS, it means a pro-Putin foreign policy, and a vote against workers’ rights.

“And now we here he’s recruited Liz Truss as his new top adviser, as he was cheering on the mini budget.”

The number of migrants who have arrived in the UK so far this year after crossing the English Channel passed 10,000 in record time.

Some 473 migrants arrived on Monday April 28, bringing the cumulative total for 2025 to 10,358, according to provisional figures from the Home Office.

It is the earliest point in the calendar year the milestone has been reached.

Last year the figure of 10,000 was not reached until May 24, while in 2023 it was June 17.

The current total for 2025, 10,358, is up 45% on the number recorded at this point last year (7,167) and 79% higher than the same point in 2023 (5,799), according to PA news agency analysis of the data.