Nigel Farage rejects ‘fast track’ refugee routes from Palestine and Afghanistan: ‘We have to put national security first’

Nigel Farage has rejected supporting the setting up of “safe and legal” refugee routes from Palestine and Afghanistan, insisting Britain must “put national security above everything else”.

Speaking to GB News, the Reform UK leader was reacting to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s plan to reestablish a “fast-track” resettlement scheme for “vulnerable” migrants.

The UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) is being billed as a way to discourage small boat crossings, while opening the door to those the Home Office says are fleeing war and persecution.

It will target the “most vulnerable” refugees, including women and girls in Afghanistan, Palestinians with critical medical needs and survivors of torture.

Those accepted will be granted immediate indefinite leave to remain, unlike other refugees whose status is reviewed every 30 months.

Ms Mahmood said the scheme will see Britain “live up to our international obligations” but insisted the process will be “capped and controlled”.

Mr Farage raised grave concerns about the plan, telling The People’s Channel it was risking national security.

“If you open up legal and safe routes to Palestine, for argument's sake, you then automatically open the door for the partner to come, for children to come, for elderly parents to come.

“Before you know it, not only have the numbers increased, but your potential risk of someone coming into Britain who does not support in any way at all our culture or traditions and believes in something that could pose a danger becomes greater.”

To make his point, the Reform leader drew upon recent examples of failures in the migration system.

“We also learnt at the weekend that the previous Conservative Government had given asylum to a man who was working with the leader of Hamas.

“The fact is, there are certain countries in the world that pose far greater risks of violence and terrorism than other parts of the world.

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Asked if he was definitely ruling out his support for any resettlement scheme, Mr Farage was definitive.

“Given the massively increased risk to national security that I've been highlighting for years, especially in the last few months, we have to put national security above everything else.

“The answer is no,” the Reform leader declared.

Mr Farage also addressed the threat from Iran, where he said the Islamic Republic was exploiting Britain’s migration system.

“I was given intelligence that the Iranian regime was using the small boats in the Channel to get their operatives into Britain, spies and potential terrorists for my trouble.

“I also know that over the last few months there has been a massive intelligence operation going on, led by counter-terrorism, looking at Iranian nationals living in Britain because they feared a bomb plot,” he said.

To that end, the Reform leader said he was “not in the least bit surprised” to see a suspected terror plot foiled outside RAF Fairford.

Iran has stringently denied involvement in the incident, with counter-terror police announcing that all five suspects are British nationals.

However, police are understood to be investigating whether any potential plot could be linked to the Islamic Republic, which has used proxies to carry out crimes on British soil in the past.

It comes as British-Iranian families told GB News that Andy Burnham must overhaul the nation’s visa system to protect against the Iranian threat.

They revealed that, through abuse of the visa system, the regime was able to enact a campaign of “psychological warfare” on the UK.