In a major policy announcement that directly challenges the current Labour government’s handling of the UK’s penal system, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, alongside prominent party figures, outlined an aggressive new criminal justice strategy.

The plan centers on deporting all foreign-born convicts and rapidly expanding the UK’s prison capacity through emergency “Nightingale Prisons.”

Speaking against the backdrop of the government’s early release programs, Farage declared that Britain has become “lawless,” asserting that crime statistics showing a decline are based on outdated measurement methods that fail to capture the reality of urban and rural fear.

A cornerstone of the Reform UK platform is the immediate deportation of the estimated 10,000 foreign national offenders currently housed in British prisons. Farage stated that the party is already organizing a delegation—including MP Lee Anderson and former prison governor Vanessa Frake—to visit El Salvador to negotiate offshore prison arrangements. The party argues that housing an offender in El Salvador would cost half as much as keeping them in the UK, while immediately freeing up domestic space. If home countries refuse repatriation, the party would also look to utilize third-party nations, citing Sweden’s current use of facilities in Kosovo as a model.

To address the broader capacity crisis, Reform UK proposed the rapid construction of “Nightingale Prisons”—echoing the emergency hospital expansions seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. The party claims it can create 12,000 new prison places within 18 months of forming a government. This would be achieved using pre-fabricated modular technology deployed on Ministry of Defence land, with the military called in to assist in construction.

The announcement was sharply critical of both the current Labour government and the previous Conservative administration. Party spokesperson Yousef pointed out that under 14 years of Conservative rule, the UK population increased by six million due to net immigration, yet only 455 net new prison places were built. He also condemned Labour’s recent justice reforms, which effectively mean individuals sentenced to less than a year in prison are unlikely to serve time behind bars—a policy Reform UK says has opened the door to rampant shoplifting and lower-level burglary.

The emotional core of the party’s presentation focused on the human cost of early release policies. Speakers highlighted the impending early release of the killers of PC Andrew Harper, a police officer who was dragged to his death in 2019, and the case of Liam Matthews, an offender who committed murder within hours of his early release last year.

“Dangerous criminals must serve their full term,” Farage insisted, promising that under a Reform government, individuals convicted of serious crimes such as murder, rape, and severe violence would never be released a day early.

The proposed measures present a stark alternative to the approach taken by Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government, signaling that Reform UK intends to aggressively campaign on law and order by offering zero-tolerance policies that challenge established human rights frameworks regarding prisoner transfers.