Amnesty International has accused Nigel Farage of putting "hate and inhumanity" before leadership after Reform UK announced it would send foreign offenders held in prisons in England and Wales to serve their sentences in El Salvador and Kosovo.
A spokesperson for the human rights organisation likened the proposal to "financial brutality with British taxpayers' money", according to the Guardian's politics live blog, which reported the reaction on Monday afternoon. Amnesty International UK had not published the statement on its own press pages at the time of writing.
The policy was trailed on Sunday night by Reform's home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, and launched at a press conference fronted by Farage on Monday. Yusuf said the party would "change the law so that those who commit serious crimes like murder, manslaughter, rape and serious violence serve their full sentences", adding:
"Unbelievably, there are over 10,000 foreign nationals in British jails. We will deport all foreign nationals from our jails. If their home countries won't take them back we will send them to serve their sentences in countries like El Salvador and Kosovo."
Taking questions alongside Yusuf, Farage was asked by the BBC's Jack Fenwick which other countries might be used and what the scheme would cost. He conceded there "might not be too many colour TVs" in the prisons concerned. "It's not going to be a summer camp. It's not going to be particularly fun. But it won't be cruel and it won't be unreasonable," he said. Farage said Reform would travel to El Salvador later this year for further discussions about renting prison spaces. Party chairman Lee Anderson is expected to lead a delegation to Central America in the coming months.
The package also includes 12,000 places in temporary "Nightingale" prisons, an end to early release for serious offences and the reintroduction of short custodial sentences for shoplifters. Reform argues the British government would fund the transfers but that the arrangement would still be cheaper than housing offenders domestically. No costings document has been published.
Ministry of Justice figures published in its quarterly offender management statistics record 10,134 foreign nationals in custody in England and Wales on 30 June 2026 — around 12% of the prison population, according to the House of Commons Library. Of those, 3,283 were on remand and therefore not convicted. A Reform spokesperson confirmed foreign nationals would only become eligible for removal after conviction, meaning almost a third of the figure the party cites falls outside the policy as described.
Neither the Salvadoran nor the Kosovan government has confirmed any contact with Reform UK. Reports that talks were already under way originate with the Sun and have not been independently verified.
The announcement lands in the middle of a live row over the early release scheme being run by Andy Burnham's government. Burnham announced revised arrangements on 3 August following a review by the Justice Secretary, Alex Norris, delaying the start from September to October and excluding those serving sentences for rape and sexual offences against children. The number expected to benefit fell from about 6,000 to 5,000. Changes to automatic release under the Sentencing Act 2026 come into force on 1 October.
The scheme's flashpoint has been the eligibility of Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, convicted of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper in 2020. Norris told ITV News he was "deeply sorry" that manslaughter could not be included in the exemptions. Harper's widow said she was "disgusted".
A Labour spokesperson said the government was already working to deport foreign criminals and create new prison places, and accused Reform of offering "no serious answers" to overcrowding.
El Salvador's flagship CECOT facility, which holds up to 40,000 inmates in cells of 65 to 70 prisoners with no visits and no rehabilitation programmes, has been the subject of sustained human rights criticism. Amnesty has previously said that "reducing gang violence by replacing it with state violence cannot be a success".
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