Reform UK pledges hardline crackdown on illegal migrants entering Britain from Ireland, with eye-watering fines for train and bus firms transporting them across the border

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By CHRISTIAN CALGIE, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE

Published: 07:31 BST, 18 September 2026 | Updated: 07:31 BST, 18 September 2026

Reform UK will today unveil plans for a major crackdown on illegal migrants entering Britain from the Republic of Ireland.

Danny Kruger, one of the party's most senior figures, will announce new measures to prevent the soft border between the Republic and Northern Ireland being used as a backdoor by migrants.

Mr Kruger, who oversees the party's efforts to prepare for government, will pledge that a Nigel Farage-led government would introduce major fines for bus and rail operators caught transporting illegal migrants into Britain.

Reform would levy a £10,000 charge for each illegal migrant caught, in the hope it forces operators to take greater responsibility for their passengers.

The fines would then be used to fund the deportation of illegal migrants and additional border enforcement.

Mr Kruger will also set out plans to increase regular 'spot checks' alongside the fines, with a party source arguing that the current level of checks by the Irish Guard are 'grossly insufficient'.

The checks would be carried out by immigration enforcement officers stationed at the terminals served by cross-border coaches, including Belfast, Newry, Banbridge and Sprucefield.

Last night Reform insisted that the scheme is fully compatible with the Good Friday Agreement, pointing out that the Republic of Ireland already operates checkpoints and vehicle stops on north-south transit routes.

Danny Kruger will pledge the crackdown speaking at the DUP's party conference today

An asylum seeker was charged with attempted murder of a man in Northern Ireland earlier this year, sparking riots in Belfast

Reform insists that the 'spot checks' are fully compatible with the current Common Travel Area and Good Friday Agreement

Mr Kruger's announcement comes just months after a 30-year-old Sudanese migrant was charged with attempted murder after arriving in the country.

Hadi Alodid flew from Paris to Dublin, then entered Northern Ireland via the Common Travel Area, where he successfully claimed asylum.

The news sparked riots across Belfast in June this year, with homes and vehicles set alight.

Both the Irish and British governments subsequently pledged to intensify co-operation and crackdowns on illegal migration following the shocking scenes.

Speaking at the DUP's annual party conference today, Mr Kruger will insist that Reform's new policy is 'not a border check', adding: 'It will be for operators to determine their own approach.'

'Illegal and unvetted dangerous criminals, who cross into Northern Ireland, are abusing the soft Irish border, using it as a backdoor route into the UK,' he will add.

'The absence of checkpoints at the border does not remove the requirement to have a right to enter.

'Almost all illegal movement from the Republic into Northern Ireland is by scheduled coach or train, arriving at a handful of terminals.'

Mr Kruger, who defected from the Conservatives last September, will call on the Irish government to 'do more to stem the flow' of illegal migrants, adding that illegal migrants are exploiting the hard-won soft border 'to break into Britain'.

According to Home Office figures published in August, Immigration Enforcement arrested 1,284 suspected offenders in the 2025-26 financial year, of which 934 were cases of migrants 'abusing and circumventing' the Common Travel Area.

Four hundred and sixty-five people were subsequently returned as part of 'Operation Gull'.

In June, the Irish Department of Justice said that the Republic and Northern Ireland have a 'shared responsibility and a shared interest in protecting the operation' of the Common Travel Area, and must ensure that it 'remains secure' to prevent abuse.