Nigel Farage rolls back on vow to deport all small-boat arrivals to the UK
Nigel Farage has rolled back on his pledge to deport “absolutely anyone” arriving in the UK on small boats just 24 hours after making it at a combative press conference in Oxford that led to accusations of ugly and destructive rhetoric.Farage announced plans to deport hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers in the first five years of a Reform government and to pay despotic regimes such as the Taliban to take them back.He also said: “Yes, women and children, everybody on arrival, will be detained.”At a press conference near Edinburgh on Wednesday, however, when asked whether his comments on securing women’s safety in the UK rang hollow when he had committed to deporting women and girls back to countries where they faced oppression and sexual violence, Farage said that was not true.At an event to introduce the MSP Graham Simpson as the latest defection from the Scottish Conservatives to Reform, Farage said: “We’re not even discussing women and children at this stage, there are so many illegal males in Britain.
”Asked if that meant women and children were exempt from the plans, he said: “I didn’t say exempt for ever, but at this stage it is not part of our plan for the next five years,”Farage similarly rowed back on his proposal to renegotiate the Good Friday agreement after political parties in Northern Ireland condemned his comment as reckless and irresponsible,He said “the Northern Ireland situation is deeply complex” and “that will not be at the forefront of what we do”,Farage also denied having a “woman problem”,He said increasing numbers of women had joined Reform over the summer and that they were “becoming very strong forces in the party”.
Describing Reform as a “rapidly evolving political movement in Scotland”, he hailed his party’s “remarkable result” in the Hamilton byelection in June, when his candidate Ross Lambie won 26% of the vote, and said there were 200 potential candidates being vetted across the country,He predicted “pretty much a wipeout” for the Scottish Conservatives at next May’s Holyrood elections,Simpson becomes Reform’s sole MSP sitting in the Scottish parliament, and its second MSP overall after the former Tory Michelle Ballantyne’s defection in the last parliamentary session,He is the third MSP to have quit the Scottish Conservative party in recent months: Jamie Greene defected to the Scottish Lib Dems in April, citing his former party’s “Trump-esque” style, and Jeremy Balfour left to sit as an independent last week, blaming “reactionary politics”,A Scottish Conservatives spokesperson said the party remained focused on “holding the SNP and Labour to account”.
Simpson said Reform represented “an opportunity to create something fresh” for voters, adding that he did not expect to be made the party’s leader in Scotland simply because he had defected,A number of Scottish Tory councillors have also defected to Reform since the last general election,Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionFarage told reporters that he believed attitidues to immigration were “not dissimilar” north and south of the border,A number of anti-immigration protests have taken place outside asylum seekers’ accommodation in Scotland over the summer, in Falkirk, Perth and Aberdeen, but not on the scale of those in England,Participants were often outnumbered by anti-racism counter-protests.
The Scottish Tory leader, Russell Findlay, said on Monday that recent protests outside an asylum hotel in Falkirk were understandable after an Afghan asylum seeker raped a local teenager.Sadeq Nikzad, 29, was jailed for nine years in June after attacking a 15-year-old girl in Falkirk town centre in October 2023.Farage said his press conference on Tuesday had “sparked the beginning of a national debate” and that “even the prime minister hasn’t attacked me on the idea that we should be deporting people that come illegally”.Downing Street accused him of not being serious about his plans.Simpson denied at Wednesday’s event that he had been obliged to apologise for his behaviour towards a junior female staffer, after a Scottish Conservative source briefed reporters that he was “a pathetic, nasty little man who won’t be missed”.
“Just last year he had to apologise to a young female member of staff for acting in a totally inappropriate, bullying and intimidating way towards her,” the source said.Simpson said the allegation was “absolutely untrue”.“Anything internally will be dealt with internally and that’s the way I’ll leave it,” he said.“I certainly don’t have a problem with women.”
Cameron Norrie battles past Comesaña at US Open to set up Djokovic clash
Cameron Norrie continued his fine grand slam form by holding his nerve at the end of a bruising battle with Francisco Comesaña to win 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (0) 7-6 (4) and set up a third‑round match with Novak Djokovic.Norrie, who reached the fourth round of the French Open and quarter-finals at Wimbledon this year, had looked well on his way to victory as he established a two-set lead. However, as he edged close to winning, his nerves increasingly came to the surface.After establishing a 4-1 lead with a double break in the final set and then serving for the match at 5-4, Norrie found himself down set point at 5-6. As Comesaña lasered a backhand down the line, Norrie thought he had been forced to a fifth set and he began walking to his chair but the umpire confirmed the shot had landed out
US Open tennis 2025: injured Draper withdraws, Raducanu on day four – live
Righto, that’s us done for today. Join me again tomorrow at 4.30pm BST, for more ridiculous behaviour, but until then, peace out.Another nails serve and Norrie seals the win, at the end of a pulsating, wild and banging match. Next for him: Djokovic
Fritz, Pegula and Navarro lead American charge into US Open third round
Taylor Fritz overcame a jittery start, Jessica Pegula extended her run of consistency and Emma Navarro continued to build on last year’s breakout season as all three Americans advanced to the third round of the US Open with convincing victories on Wednesday.On a breezy afternoon at Flushing Meadows, Fritz recovered from a sluggish opening set to defeat South Africa’s Lloyd Harris 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-4. The fourth seed, runner-up here last year, was forced to navigate a tricky test against the big-serving Harris, who has been rebuilding his career after injuries saw his ranking plummet outside the world’s top 300.Fritz dropped serve early and ceded the first set as Harris’s forehand found its range. But the American steadied behind his own delivery, pounding 17 aces in all, and dominated the second-set tiebreak to level the match
Jack Draper pulls out of US Open before second round with arm injury
Jack Draper has been forced to withdraw before his second‑round match at the US Open because of issues with the arm injury that has disrupted his progress this summer.Draper, the fifth seed, had already missed seven weeks of competition because of bone stress and bone bruising on his left arm, and he had not competed since his second‑round defeat at Wimbledon last month.In a statement on social media, Draper wrote: “Hi guys, I’m sorry to say I’ll be withdrawing from the US Open. I tried my very best to be here and give myself every chance to play but the discomfort in my arm has become too much and I have to do what is right and look after myself. Thank you for all the support it means so much to me
NFL gives Chiefs’ Rice six-game ban for crash that left multiple people injured
Kansas City Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice has accepted a six-game NFL ban for his part in a high-speed crash that left a number of people injured.The 25-year-old pled guilty in July to two third-degree felony charges of collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and was required to pay $115,000 in medical costs to the injured parties. The incident took place on a Dallas highway in March 2024. Prosecutors say Rice was driving a Lamborghini Urus SUV at 119mph when he made “multiple aggressive maneuvers around traffic” and struck other vehicles
Emma Raducanu rapidly dispatches Janice Tjen in show of US Open force
On her return to Flushing Meadows this year, significant tension and nerves followed Emma Raducanu as she attempted to finally secure her first win since her triumph here four years ago. Two matches in, she has shown that she has never been more ready for the challenges to come.Raducanu continued to demonstrate the fruits of her recent labour by putting together another devastating performance, demolishing the qualifier Janice Tjen 6-2, 6-1 to return to the third round of the US Open.The challenge for Raducanu on Wednesday was figuring out a talented but unheralded opponent whom few players in the tournament have had the opportunity to watch, let alone face in a match.Once again, the British No 1 showed that she is playing her best tennis since winning the title here in 2021 here and that confidence is growing with every victory
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