Zia Yusuf

Reform UK has demanded a dramatic expansion of stop and search powers in London — and critics are warning the party not to “demonise” young Londoners.

In a fiery speech, Reform’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf called for Scotland Yard to be handed “vastly expanded” powers to tackle knife crime. He also urged “saturation policing” in high-crime areas, flooding the streets with Met Police officers in “zero tolerance” crackdowns.

The speech marks Mr Yusuf’s first major intervention since being appointed by Nigel Farage. And it lands just days before the Gorton and Denton by-election.

Mr Yusuf insisted: “We will get the knives off our streets by giving the police vastly expanded powers of stop and search.” Reform is pushing law and order to the forefront of its campaign ahead of May’s local elections, including in London where it hopes to seize control of several councils.

But Labour MPs hit back fast.

Dame Meg Hillier, MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch, warned that stopping and searching young people without grounds “is not the way” to tackle knife crime. She said London has worked hard to protect young people “without demonising them.”

“Stop and search has a place,” she said, “but done badly it creates a sense of mistrust and unease among the very people we are all trying to protect.”

Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing Central and Acton, also sounded the alarm. She said stop and search can work — especially with body-worn cameras — but warned blunt use risks “poisoning relations between communities and destroying trust in the police.”

The debate echoes past warnings.

As Home Secretary in 2014, Theresa May scaled back stop and search powers, saying their overuse — including against innocent people — was “hugely damaging” to police-public relations.

Reform is now pushing in the opposite direction.

Mr Yusuf also unveiled a hardline immigration package. He called for “visa freezes” on Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Afghanistan and Syria if those countries refuse to take back migrants with no right to stay in Britain.

He proposed creating a new UK Deportation Command to identify, detain and deport illegal migrants — a plan with echoes of Donald Trump’s ICE teams. He also pledged rapid expansion of detention capacity for 24,000 illegal migrants and five deportation flights a day.

Further proposals include replacing Indefinite Leave to Remain with renewable five-year work visas and stricter spouse visa rules, terminating Universal Credit for foreign nationals, expanding prison capacity, and automatic home searches for individuals referred to Prevent by three corroborating authorities.

He vowed: “We will secure our borders, leave the ECHR and deport those here illegally.”

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused Reform of “copying and pasting” Conservative immigration plans.

The battle lines are drawn. With elections looming, stop and search — and Britain’s borders — are back at the centre of the political storm.

Key Takeaways

• Reform wants “vastly expanded” stop and search and zero tolerance policing in London.

• Labour warns overuse could damage trust and “demonise” young people.

• Party also unveiled hardline immigration plans including visa freezes and mass deportations.

Reform UK warned not to 'demonise' Londoners with more stop and search

UK like the European Union, has doomed itself anyway.

3 hours ago, SingAPorn said:

UK like the European Union, has doomed itself anyway.

For the UK, Restore (or less so, Reform) are the only Democratic solution.

Because of course the ‘Sus Laws’ were such a raging success.

Now if only the UK could have Sus Laws together with reinstating racist police officers to implement them.

What a wonderful idea that would be?!

19 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Because of course the ‘Sus Laws’ were such a raging success.

Now if only the UK could have Sus Laws together with reinstating racist police officers to implement them.

What a wonderful idea that would be?!

As an outsider looking in, any and all options should be on the table to regain the country and culture.