Reform UK leader Nigel Farage denies his party would authorise “lethal force” against migrants crossing the Channel on small boats, following comments by a senior Reform MP. Robert Jenrick, who previously defected from the Conservatives to Reform, had told TalkTV that a Reform government would allow the Royal Marines to use lethal force as part of efforts to take boats back to France.
Multiple outlets report the dispute as a disagreement within Reform over the language and implications of Jenrick’s remarks. Farage says the comments have been “misconstrued” and that Reform’s position is not as Jenrick described. The reports also note criticism from outside the party, including condemnation of Jenrick’s framing by Labour figures.
Overall, the story centres on competing interpretations of what Reform would do regarding border enforcement in the Channel, and how Farage and Jenrick present the party’s approach in public discussion.
