Nigel Farage’s mass deportation proposal and a controversial social media post by Reform councillor Darren Grimes have sparked sharp criticism from North East leaders, fuelling tensions over immigration and race.
00:00Nigel Farage this week announced Operation Restoring Justice, a pledge to deport up to 600,000 asylum seekers within a single parliamentary term.
00:10The plan includes detaining all small boat arrivals, repealing the Human Rights Act and withdrawing the UK from international refugee protections.
00:19Newcastle City Council leader Karen Kilgoura dismissed the proposal as plucked from thin air, accusing Farage of offering populist soundbites rather than serious policy.
00:30She said the plan does nothing to tackle the root causes of migration or support community cohesion.
00:36Kilgoura also reiterated her call to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.
00:41Meanwhile, tensions escalated further after Darren Grimes, Reform UK's deputy council leader in Durham, faced criticism for a social media post.
00:50Grimes posted a video of his brother on a boat trip in Scarborough, surrounded by non-white passengers, joking,
00:57I had to ask if he was on a dinghy to Dover, but then I realised there are women and children on board.
01:03North East Mayor Kim McGuinness condemned the post as hideous, accusing Grimes of inciting racism and hate.
01:09She questioned how such comments could go unchallenged by Reform's leadership.
01:14Grimes has since hit back, denying any racist intent.
01:18Racism is believing one group is inferior to another.
01:21That is not what I have said and it's not what I believe, he said.
01:24Love of country is not hate, Grimes added.
01:27Presiding over migrant HMOs, hotels and permanent influxes is anti-democratic and a safeguarding risk.
01:33The row comes as Labour faces mounting pressure over small boat crossing and asylum accommodation.
01:39With the North East Fast becoming a key battleground in the national immigration debate.
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