Nigel Farage has warned Britain is on the brink of civil unrest amid growing fury over immigration – claiming the country has become a ‘pressure cooker’ thanks to decades of government failure.
The Reform UK leader said he is ‘deeply worried’ that scenes like those seen in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, and Southport could erupt in towns and cities across the country if ministers continue to ignore public concerns about mass immigration and integration.
The stark warning follows a fifth night of violence in Ballymena, where tensions exploded after the arrest of two Romanian teenagers accused of attempted rape.
What started as a protest quickly escalated into disturbing scenes of rioting, with police forced to deploy in large numbers.
Mr Farage did not defend the violence but blamed long-standing tensions in some communities where new arrivals have allegedly struggled – or refused – to integrate.
‘Nobody condones setting fire to houses and hunting down foreigners,’ he told the Sun.
‘But there was a population of people, the Roma people, that were put into Ballymena who cannot possibly integrate with the locals and have a completely different set of standards of life beliefs.’
Nigel Farage has warned Britain is on the brink of civil unrest amid growing fury over immigration
One cop was seen engulfed in flames after facing attacks from an anti-immigration mob
Petrol bombs were seen hurled at riot police by masked thugs
He warned that immigration without integration inevitably leads to conflict: ‘The truth of it is that immigration only works if you have integration with it. If you don’t, you have a divide.
‘And where human beings are divided, history teaches us, you get conflict. I am very, very deeply worried about what’s happening.’
Downing Street has condemned the violence, with a spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer saying the Prime Minister ‘utterly condemns the ongoing violence’ and supports efforts by local police to restore order and protect residents.
The unrest in Northern Ireland comes against the backdrop of record-breaking illegal immigration figures, with Home Office data showing 14,812 migrants arrived via small boats in the first five months of this year – a figure not reached until July in 2024.
On one day alone – May 31 – 1,194 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats, smashing the previous daily record of 825 earlier in the same month.
Mr Farage, whose Reform party has pledged to deport ‘every illegal immigrant’ in Britain, insists the current approach is unsustainable – but admitted the challenge is steep.
His comments come after crowds of masked thugs gathered in Portadown last night on the fifth night of violence in Northern Ireland.
Homes were set on fire, including one thought to be linked to the alleged perpetrators (not pictured)
Properties in Ballymena with signs saying locals live here as violence has been directed towards migrant communities
A resident clearing debris Portadown in County Armagh, following three nights of disorder in Ballymena
Huge clouds of smoke were seen in the area where a protest had been held earlier in the evening before it descended into carnage.
Officers in riot gear rushed to the scene while hooded thugs were seen hauling a huge branch across a road towards a line of police vans.
The ‘significant and sustained attack’ demanded the need of more officers, PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said, emphasising that ‘destroying and vandalising local communities do not make our towns safer for women and girls and to claim otherwise is nonsense’.
The violence that was livestreamed on TikTok came only hours after a senior PSNI officer said cops are actively investigating ‘those posting hate on social media’, according to the Belfast Telegraph.
An ‘unprecedented’ number of people no longer feel safe in their homes, Northern Ireland’s Housing Executive chief added.
Only yesterday did a family with young children in Coleraine have to be evacuated after their house had been set ablaze.
