OPINION: Whitehall Editor Jonathan Walker was in the room as Reform showed why they will be different to any other Government
Nigel Farage set out plans to deport foreign criminals (Image: Getty)
Nigel Farage has explained his plan to end prison overcrowding. And there was one key moment that made it clear why a Reform government will be different to all the rest. He was talking to activists and the media in a London press conference about plans to send more than 10,000 foreign criminals currently in UK jails to foreign countries. The first choice will be to send them home, but if their countries refuse to take them back then a Reform government would pay a country such as El Salvador to house them in specially-built jails instead.
It may sound expensive, but actually it would cost half as much as keeping them in British prisons. And it would end the problem of prison overcrowding at home – which is what’s caused the current Labour government to release prisoners early, including potentially the killers of PC Andrew Harper.
But there might be one snag. A journalist asked about legal challenges, and pointed out that the last Conservative government’s attempt to send asylum seekers to Rwanda had failed because the courts kept on blocking deportations.
The journalist asked: “That means you end up clogging the courts with people taking legal action against this. There are people working in the courts every day who say, ‘you are creating a problem with this’.”
But the answer – which came from Mr Farage’s colleague Zia Yusuf, Reform’s foreign affairs spokesman – showed why Reform is not the same as the other parties.
He said: “I get that. Our inbox is full of people saying you are going to clog up the legal system.”
But he added: “One of the really cool things that His Majesty’s government can do is to change the law.”
And that included leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, he said.
“It can be done and it must be done.”
The key point isn’t just that Reform would take the UK out of the European Convention. It’s also that they really are determined to carry out policies that the British people have voted for – if they win the general election.
Mr Yusuf is correct to say governments can change the law. But he might also have added that they can make changes if their MPs let them.
And the problem Labour faces is that its own MPs oppose serious attempts to control immigration. In fact, the Conservatives have had the same problem in the past too, which is why party leader Kemi Badenoch is being ruthless about blocking people who disagree with her from standing as Tory Parliamentary candidates.
But Reform might actually do what it is promising to do. And if you don’t like their plans then you’re entitled to your opinion, and of course you can vote for someone else. But if, at the next election, UK voters do choose to make Nigel Farage Prime Minister, then this time they may actually get what they voted for.
Blow for Burnham – prison union chief reveals plan to stop PC Harper killers early release
Ministers have been urged to free thousands of people held on remand to create prison space.
A plan to create additional prison capacity by releasing people held on remand has been put forward as ministers face pressure over the planned early release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers.
Mark Fairhurst, chair of the Prison Officers’ Association, said thousands of people awaiting trial could potentially be bailed or fitted with electronic tags, freeing up cells for prisoners who would otherwise qualify for early release.
Mr Fairhurst said he believed there were around 17,000 people currently on remand.
Speaking to Times Radio, he said: “I’m sure we could get a couple of thousand of them bailed or tagged with the GPS tag to monitor them electronically.
“That’s an easy win for this government and I can’t understand why they don’t consider it.
“I’m positive we could free up additional space and block anybody convicted of manslaughter from early release.
“You only have to look at the remand population.”
The suggestion comes as Downing Street maintains that it is “not possible” to exclude “one or two offenders” from Labour’s early release scheme.
That means Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers could still be released within months.
A petition calling for the pair to remain behind bars had reached nearly 900,000 signatures.
There are about 950 prisoners convicted of manslaughter, the offence for which PC Harper’s killers were convicted, although around 500 are thought to be eligible for early release.
Those campaigning for Cole and Bowers to remain imprisoned have argued that the Government should prohibit early release for anyone convicted of manslaughter.
Ministers, however, have said doing so could result in prisons becoming full.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said last week he had “pushed to the very limits of what is possible to do” by removing around 1,000 rapists, child sex offenders and groomers from eligibility for early release.
Downing Street reinforced that position yesterday, saying it could not prevent PC Harper’s killers from being released early.
Officials had examined one possible route: preventing prisoners convicted of the manslaughter of an emergency worker from being released.
But Mr Burnham’s spokesman said this was “not a standalone offence”.
The proposal is understood to have been described by officials as a “complete non-starter”.
The reason is that the Government would likely lose a legal challenge because there is no specific offence for manslaughter of an emergency worker.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman was asked whether ministers were therefore accepting the situation as it stands.
He said it was “not possible to simply exclude one or two offenders”, adding: “I think you’ve seen from the Prime Minister’s words that he’s far from accepting the situation and as he wrote last week he wants to go even further.
“He’s pushed hard on what more we could do and his focus now is on fixing the prison system long-term to avoid a repeat of this prison crisis so that it never happens again.”
The Government continues to plan the early release of around 5,000 criminals over ten months from October as it attempts to tackle overcrowding.
Cole and Bowers are among those covered by the plans.
PC Harper, who was 28, was investigating the theft of a £10,000 quad bike in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in 2019 when he was killed.
Bowers and Cole, who were then 17, attempted to flee in a car driven by Henry Long, who was 18.
PC Harper’s ankles became caught in the vehicle’s tow rope and he was dragged along at 43mph.
Long is not eligible for early release.
The decision to potentially release Cole and Bowers has also prompted an angry response from Christopher Bushnell, a former Thames Valley Police officer who was first on the scene following PC Harper’s death.
Mr Bushnell, who retired from Thames Valley Police in 2022, recalled the lack of remorse he said the killers showed in the dock during their trial.
He said their planned early release was “absolutely outrageous”.
PC Harper’s mother shares reaction to killers’ early release
Mr Bushnell said: “We can’t change the verdict.
“They got their sentences, which were pretty pitiful, to be fair. When I first heard a couple of weeks ago there was a chance they could be let out early, I was shaking. It brought everything back.
“To think they could be released early is absolutely outrageous. I’m angry with them, but I’m also angry with the Government. They’re spitting in the face of police officers.”
Aileen O’Connor, Chair of Thames Valley Police Federation, launched the petition calling for Cole and Bowers to remain in prison.
More than 880,000 signatures had been collected by yesterday afternoon.
She said: “The public are speaking loudly and clearly. They agree with us that the Government is firmly on the wrong side of this.
“The silence from the Government on this is deafening. What they are doing is indefensible. And they simply cannot defend it. They must listen. The Prime Minister must listen.
“If you kill a police officer there should be no early release. No ifs. No buts.”
She added: “We are seeking all legal avenues…Whatever happens, we will throw everything we can at this to make sure that those responsible for killing Andrew Harper in the execution of his duty remain firmly behind bars.”