Nigel Farage revealed that pulling Britain out of a European human rights treaty would be one of the first things he would do if he becomes prime minister. The Reform UK leader was asked during an LBC phone-in what his first act would be if he entered Downing Street.
Mr Farage, whose party is leading most national opinion polls, said that quitting the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) would not be “very far from the top of the list”. He said: “I tell you what we’re going to do when we win the next election, which I believe we can, I genuinely now do believe we can, I think the appetite for change is out there. Those that don’t like us, that’s fine, but those that do like us, they’ve got an energy, enthusiasm.
“We’re going to come in with a whole dossier full of legislation ready to go and I don’t think that the ECHR withdrawal can be very far from the top of the list.”
The ECHR has been widely blamed for the UK being unable to get a grip on the small boats crisis.
A judge from the European Court of Human Rights, which interprets the convention, stopped the first Rwanda flight when the Tories were in power.
It comes as the Labour Government is seeking to tighten the interpretation of the human rights laws in the UK.
In a speech last month, the Justice Secretary said the ECHR must be reformed as public confidence in the rule of law across the continent is “fraying”.
Shabana Mahmood told the Council of Europe in a speech in Strasbourg the ECHR “must evolve” to respond to new realities.