Nigel Farage’s plans for the mass deportation of asylum seekers are “beneath us as a nation”, the UK’s top bishop has said.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell argued that the Reform UK leader’s radical proposals to “send them all back”, which would involve returning migrants to war, violence and persecution, go against “the British way”.
He said it has been a longstanding tenet in the UK that “compassion and understanding” is what is provided to those in need, as he warned that this country “cannot simply close the door”.
The archbishop’s remarks come days after Mr Farage said his party would remove 600,000 asylum seekers, including children, under the first parliament of a Reform government, should they win power.
At a press conference in London on Tuesday, he also pledged to scale up detention capacity for asylum seekers to 24,000 and secure deals with countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea and Iran to return migrants to their countries.
Mr Farage suggests the plan – which would require the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights – would address what he claimed was a “rising anger” among the British public towards the UK’s small boats crisis.
But the Archbishop of York – who is the Church of England’s most senior figure until a new Archbishop of Canterbury is appointed – told The Mirror: “We cannot simply close the door on people fleeing war, violence and persecution. ‘Send them all back’ is not a sensible or compassionate response, and is beneath us as a nation.
“We need a system that is fair and functional and works well for everyone – including those living near hotels and other asylum accommodation. But this debate also goes to the heart of who we are.
“It is the Christian way to meet those asking for help with compassion and understanding, and it has long been the British way to give shelter where we can to those escaping violence and conflict abroad. It should remain that way.”
Mr Farage has previously claimed Christian values make this country great – but the archbishop’s remarks suggest the Reform leader would face pushback from Britain’s most senior Christians if he attempted to push ahead with his mass deportation plans.
It was put to Mr Farage whether it would be hypocritical to ignore senior church figures in light of his previous comments – and he told The Mirror: “Whoever the Christian leaders are at any given point in time, I think over the last decades quite a few of them have been rather out of touch, perhaps with their own flock.
“Given the types of people appointed to be the Archbishop of Canterbury, that’s probably the biggest understatement of the day.”
A spokesperson for the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, told the newspaper that she is “fully supportive” of the statement issued by the Archbishop of York.
The Independent has approached Nigel Farage for comment.
