KEMI Badenoch has said she would back Trump-style travel bans — as she warned Britain is being “mugged” by illegal immigration.
The Tory leader said there are scenarios where blocking people from certain countries is “viable”.
ReutersUS President Donald Trump[/caption]
EPAKemi Badenoch delivering a speech at the Royal United Services Institute in Westminster, London[/caption]
GettyMigrants sit on a dinghy as they prepare to sail into the English Channel on May 31, 2025 in Gravelines, France[/caption]
It comes days after the US President signed an executive order banning citizens from 12 countries from entering America — in the name of national security.
Asked by The Sun if she would ever consider following suit, Ms Badenoch said: “Parliament needs to be able to decide who comes into the country, for how long, and who needs to leave — and that does include travel bans.
“On a country-specific basis it’s much tougher, it’s often more vague.
“But I think there are scenarios where that is viable.”
She added: “That doesn’t mean that I agree with what Donald Trump has done… I haven’t actually seen the list of countries that he’s banned people from.
“I’m much more focused on what’s happening here.”
Mr Trump’s new executive order blocks entry to nationals from 12 countries — including Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan — citing the threat of foreign terrorism.
The crackdown revives his first-term “Muslim ban” and forms part of his hardline immigration pledge.
Back in London, the Tory leader delivered a fiery speech declaring the UK had “lost control” of its asylum system and said she would “likely” pull Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights to fix it.
She warned: “We cannot become the destination for everyone looking for a new home or a better life. Nor can we be the world’s softest touch.
“In some years our approval rate was above 80 per cent. Last year, Japan’s was 2 per cent.
“Britain is being mugged.”
She said human rights laws had been “stretched and distorted” by activist lawyers and were now being used to block deportations of dangerous criminals.
The Tory chief announced a commission, led by Shadow Attorney General Lord Wolfson, to draw up plans for how the UK could leave the ECHR — with a final decision due by the autumn Tory Party conference.
Ms Badenoch said: “I have always said that if we need to leave the Convention, we should.
“And having now considered the question closely, I do believe that we will likely need to leave — because I am yet to see a clear and coherent way to fix this within our current legal structures.”
She also confirmed the Tories are working on a new third-country deportation scheme to replace the scrapped Rwanda plan.
Her intervention comes amid growing anger over blocked deportations – with Nigel Farage‘s Reform UK already pledging to quit the ECHR altogether.
Calls to overhaul the ECHR are also gaining traction across Europe – with the treaty’s own chief yesterday saying there should be “no taboo” on rewriting the rules.
Council of Europe boss Alain Berset told The Times the 75-year-old convention must “adapt” to tackle the scale of modern migration.
He urged governments – including Britain – to open political talks, saying: “We need discussion about the rules that we want to have, and there is no taboo.”
It comes after leaders in Italy, Denmark and seven other nations have demanded more power to deport criminals and block irregular migration.
Downing Street this morning welcomed discussion about changing the Convention.
The Labour Government has always vowed to pass laws ordering courts to throw out ridiculous appeals to European laws by foreign offenders or illegal migrants.
A No 10 spokesman said: “Border security is vital to national security, and we welcome efforts to ensure the European Convention on Human Rights is being applied correctly and allowing countries to protect their borders.
“It’s important there is discussion on how the ECHR operates to ensure it can safeguard human rights while meeting the needs of democracies. The Prime Minister has been clear on this, it should be Parliament that makes the rules on immigration and Government that makes the policy.
“That’s why this Government is actually taking action on the ECHR. Our immigration White Paper sets out new plans through legislation to tighten the application of the ECHR, giving courts the clarity they need so our immigration rules are no longer abused, and as the Prime Minister has said, we want to ensure the right balance is made in migration cases in relation to the national interest.”
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