Britain’s right-wing Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, says it would be willing to pay the Taliban to take back Afghans who crossed the English Channel illegally, as part of sweeping plans to deport asylum seekers.
Reform UK, which grew out of the Brexit Party founded by Farage, has positioned itself as an anti-immigration, populist challenger to both the governing Labour Party and the Conservatives. The party has made stopping small boat crossings a central part of its agenda.
On Tuesday, senior party figure Zia Yusuf told the BBC it was “quite reasonable” for British taxpayers’ money to go to Afghanistan’s Taliban administration. He argued that financial incentives could persuade countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea and Iran to sign migrant return agreements.
Farage and Yusuf unveiled the plan, called Operation Restoring Justice, which pledges to deport 600,000 asylum seekers if Reform wins power. The plan would see anyone who arrives in the UK illegally, including those crossing the Channel in small boats, detained and then deported. Reform also vowed to expand detention capacity to accommodate the removals.
Under the proposal, £2 billion of the £10 billion cost of the program would be earmarked for return agreements with foreign governments. Yusuf said the payments would represent a “very significant amount of money” for countries like Afghanistan and Eritrea.
“It’s not a drop in the ocean for Afghanistan. It’s certainly not a drop in the ocean for Eritrea. These are the two countries that are top of the list for boat crossings,” Yusuf said. He added that Britain already provides £151 million annually in foreign aid to Afghanistan, stressing: “The notion that Afghans top the list in terms of foreign nationals crossing the Channel illegally, while this country gives £151 million of aid to Afghanistan — we don’t think that’s fair.”
Downing Street did not rule out future deals. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman said: “We’re not going to take anything off the table in terms of striking returns agreements with countries around the world. We clearly want to return people with no right to be here.”
However, the government criticized Farage’s pledge to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, arguing it would undermine Britain’s ability to strike international agreements. “You don’t achieve international agreements by ripping up international agreements,” Starmer’s spokesman said.
Britain currently channels its foreign aid to Afghanistan through organizations such as the United Nations and the Red Cross, rather than the Taliban. Officials have repeatedly said no aid is provided directly to the Taliban.
