Nigel Farage to unveil plans to deport foreign criminals: 'We are putting you on notice!'

Nigel Farage is set announce plans to deport foreign criminals if he wins the next general election at a press conference tomorrow. The Reform UK leader, whose insurgent party is leading national opinion polls, will say that sending 10,400 offenders back to their country of origin will "end the crisis of prison overcrowding".

The Clacton MP will insist that there is "no justification" for British taxpayers to fund their time behind bars. In his speech in central London this morning, Mr Farage is expected to say: "If you're a criminal, we are putting you on notice.

"In 2029 you have a choice to make, be a law abiding citizen or face serious justice.

"By deporting 10,400 foreign prisoners, Reform will end the crisis of prison overcrowding.

"There's no justification for taxpayers funding the lives of criminals who shouldn't be here in the first place.

"Many break the law just by entering the UK, then commit further crimes once here - disrespecting our laws, culture, and civility. The only acceptable response is deportation."

Foreign offenders make up around 12% of the total prison population in England and Wales, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice.

Meanwhile, a prison place costs taxpayers £54,000 a year on average.

Mr Farage's intervention comes as Labour is grappling with overcrowding in jails which it has blamed on the Tories.

Thousands of inmates have been released early under an emergency scheme to free up spaces in England and Wales which reduced the proportion of a sentence eligible offenders must serve behind bars from 50% to 40%.

But in embarrassing scenes for the Government, ex-prisoners were greeted with popping champagne and praised Sir Keir Starmer after being let out.

Ministers have vowed to create 14,000 new prison places by 2031.

It comes as the latest YouGov poll put Reform UK in the lead on 28%, with Labour second on 22% and the Conservatives third with 17%.

Meanwhile, a new survey by Survation found that Mr Farage was more trusted than the Prime Minister and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch to be tough on crime.

A government source said: "These are just empty promises from Farage, while this government delivers.

"Deportations of foreign criminals are up since we took office. And we are changing the law so we can deport them faster than ever."

Policing and Crime Prevention Minister Diana Johnson said: "If Nigel Farage was serious about making our streets safer, he should have backed the tough new laws we introduced earlier this year.

"It's shameful that Reform constantly seek to undermine confidence in our police and criminal justice system and voted to try to block measures to crack down on knife crime, anti-social behaviour, shop theft, child sexual abuse, and long overdue action to tackle the scourge of violence against women and girls.

"They should focus more on practical solutions to support our police, combat crime, deliver justice for victims of crime rather than chasing headlines, spouting slogans and trying to divide communities."