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https://www.independent.co.uk/politics/farage-reform-asylum-seekers-deportation-migrants-echr-b2814218.html

The Independent has challenged Nigel Farage’s plans for the mass deportation of refugees, after he claimed that he would even be prepared to pay the Taliban  for the return of Afghan asylum seekers.

“Reform claims its plan will cost around £10bn over five years, at an average of £2bn a year.

But an analysis by The Independent, based on the latest cost estimates, found that it could mean spending £6.3bn each year on deportation flights alone and £3.6bn a year on converting detention facilities, as well as the unknown costs of a deal with third-party countries that agree to take in migrants deported from the UK.

The party has claimed that the current illegal immigration system costs £7bn a year, though it is unclear how this figure has been calculated.”

The National Audit Office warned last year that detention facilities cost far more than hotels.

Detention nearly double price of asylum housing

The average cost of immigration detention is £133 per night – nearly twice as expensive as housing asylum seekers, and even more than asylum hotels.

Immigration detention costs as of Q2 2025. Average asylum costs as of 2024/5 accounts, Migration Observatory. Asylum hotels cost as of March 2025, Home Office.
 Source: Home Office/Migration Observatory
Leaving the  European Court of Human Rights would “unravel the Good Friday Agreement, destabilise our devolution settlements, and collapse our security and trade deal with the EU – undermining data sharing, extradition, and policing cooperation that keep us safe”, Dominic Greive, the former attorney general, told the paper. He  warned it would lead to a “profound loss of influence, security and stability”.
Reform’s plans have also been condemned as “toxic narratives” by the Refugee Council, which said public concerns “were being exploited for political gain”.
Meanwhile, following an outcry, Farage has had to immediately row back on plans to deport child refugees.