Summary of complaint
We received complaints about our article published on the ѿý News website on 26 August about the launch of Reform UK’s plan dubbed Operation Restoring Justice, to deport 600,000 migrants if they were to win the next election.
Our response
Some people complained about the coverage saying the launch was a divisive political stunt which was uncosted and unethical. Others felt Reform UK were being given a platform that was not proportionate to their size. Some objected to Mr Farage describing illegal migration as a ‘scourge’ in the Daily Telegraph which was quoted as the headline in the first version of our article published overnight, previewing the launch event. We updated our story when the event happened and included new details and a new headline: Reform UK would pay countries for migrant return deals. The article was further updated with fresh information from the news conference and the headline was changed again to Reform prepared to deport 600,000 under migration plans. Such changes are common journalistic practice on a developing story.
We reported some of the details unveiled at the event by Mr Farage and the chair Zia Yusuf saying, “Reform…has not specified what proportion of this number would come from future arrivals, or people already in the country”. Yusuf claimed, "north of 650,000 adults" were already living in the UK illegally and could be deported "promptly and efficiently".
We said that under Reform’s plan, “people would be arrested on arrival, detained at disused RAF bases and, if agreements were reached, returned to their countries of origin, including Afghanistan and Eritrea, where a significant number of people on small boats come from”.
We also reported, “The partywould build removal centres in remote areas of the country under plans to detain up to 24,000 people within 18 months and would look to countries such as Rwanda and Albania to house migrants,and seek to use British overseas territories such as Ascension Island as a "fallback" if people awaiting deportation could not be sent elsewhere”.
Given the demonstrations over asylum hotels and the continued public interest in small boats crossings,thislaunch event was considered newsworthy and legitimate for us to report on. Although they had four MPs at the time of writing, Reform UK won more than four million votes in the 2024 general election, making them the third largest party in terms of vote share. They had further success in the 2025 local elections and have been ahead in all UK-wide voting intention polls since May, now averaging around 30%. This sustained lead is another reason why we have been reporting on and scrutinizing their policies.
We don’t consider this article raises any issues relating to editorial standards.