Nigel Farage said on Saturday that female asylum seekers from Afghanistan who arrive in Britain on small boats would be detained and deported back to the Taliban-ruled country if he becomes prime minister.
Speaking during a round of television interviews at Reform UK's conference in Birmingham, the party leader said his government would deport "men and women" who cross the English Channel, and reiterated a pledge to remove 600,000 migrants over five years if Reform wins the next general election. "For clarity, those that cross the English Channel will be detained and deported, men and women," he told Sky News.
Farage made the comments a day after delivering a keynote speech at the conference in which he vowed his party would "stop the boats within two weeks." On Saturday he clarified that the two-week target applied to ending the Channel migrant crisis after new legislation had been passed, rather than an immediate two-week turnaround on taking office.
It had previously been unclear whether the pledged figure of 600,000 deportations would include women and children who make perilous crossings. Farage's remarks represent a public clarification of the party's stance on that point.
Reform UK has made immigration a central plank of its platform, promising wide-ranging measures to deter small-boat crossings across the Channel. Farage framed detention and deportation of those who cross by small boat as a key element of preventing irregular migration, while saying the party would pursue its proposed removals if it secures power at the next election.
Afghanistan has been ruled by the Taliban since 2021; international reporting and human rights organisations have documented severe restrictions on women's rights under Taliban rule. Farage's statement that Afghan women arriving by small boats would be returned to Afghanistan is likely to intensify scrutiny of how Reform's policies would be applied to people claiming asylum on grounds of persecution.
The comments come as the UK continues to grapple with political and legal questions over how to curb Channel crossings, process asylum claims and meet international obligations. Farage's adjustments to the language around the two-week pledge and his explicit inclusion of women among those who would be deported clarify the party's position ahead of continued debate about the feasibility, legality and humanitarian implications of its proposals.