Nigel Farage prepares Royal Navy for France migrant showdown under Reform government

Nigel Farage has insisted he remains up for a major sea showdown with France over small boats as he maintains a policy of towing migrant dinghies back to Calais. The headstrong solution to the migration crisis would be popular with voters, but would ensure a furious naval showdown with Britain’s nearest neighbour.

Speaking a year on from his spectacular political return at last year’s General Election, the Reform UK leader argued: “The ultimate threat is you literally tow the boats back to France.” He said he would engage the Royal Navy in the exercise “if it came to it. Do you think the Royal Marines would worry about doing that? They’d bloody love it.”

He added: “Nobody that ever comes to this country via that route will ever be given asylum status, will ever be able to walk the streets free and will ever be allowed to stay."

He also slammed the entire judicial system as “rotten to the core and not working”, as he confirmed he would take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights in order to restore the country’s borders.

Mr Farage told the Sunday Times: “I think the whole judicial system is rotten to the core and not working … I think you would firstly take away the tools that they’re given through the ECHR and then see how they behave.”

The interview at one of Mr Farage’s favourite London restaurants, Boisdale of Belgravia, saw him warn that if he fails to give young men a voice in British politics, Westminster will be very worried about “what comes after me”.

Asked about a relationship with influencer Andrew Tate and speaking about issues like men being discriminated against, he argued: “I’m not in Andrew Tate’s camp, but I see why he’s doing well".

He added: “Those who try to demonise me could be in for a terrible shock once I’m gone. That’s why we say we believe that we are the last chance to restore confidence in the democratic system, to change things.”

A year on from the last general election and Reform UK appears on course for the greatest political upset of Nigel Farage’s career so far.

An in-depth YouGov ‘MRP’ poll this week suggests Mr Farage would win the most seats in a general election tomorrow, crushing the Tories.

While he wouldn’t win an outright majority, YouGov’s poll of 11,500 people found Reform would win 271 seats, nearly 100 more than Labour who would see half their seats vanish.

The Tories would fall to fourth place behind the LIbDems with just 46 Conservative MPs, compared to Sir Ed Davey’s 81.

The only way of stopping Reform would be a grand rainbow coalition of Labour, the Tories, LibDems and the SNP.

YouGov said: "Reform's meteoric rise to becoming comfortably the largest party in a hung parliament is driven by impressive performances right across the country - including in Scotland."