- Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has U-turned on an earlier claim that women and children would be among those detained and deported if they crossed the Channel on small boats.
- On Tuesday, he said that detaining and deporting "absolutely anyone" who arrives illegally is the only way to stop small boat crossings.
- However, he has now retracted those comments, saying that media reporting was "wrong" and that women and children are "not part of our plan for the next five years".
- Instead, the current focus is on "illegal males", Mr Farage said.
- His initial remarks drew widespread condemnation from charities and opposition parties, who criticised the proposals as dehumanising and unworkable.
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