Farage rows back on pledge to stop small boats within fortnight of election win

Farage has previously said he would halt small boat crossings within a fortnight of taking office. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Nigel Farage has rowed back on a pledge he made to the party’s conference to stop small boat crossings within two weeks of taking office.

The Reform UK leader had told an audience at the NEC in Birmingham on Friday it would take a fortnight of him entering Downing Street to halt arrivals, if he won an election.

However, he told the BBC that instead it would rely on any Government he led passing laws first.

In an interview due to be aired on BBC One on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, he said the country would need a “legal base” to halt crossings.

He said he would introduce similar laws to those passed by Australian prime minister Tony Abbott over a decade