"You will do nothing": Restore's Downes rounds on Farage over France warning
Restore Britain's campaigns director told the Reform UK leader to "get out of our way" after he said the unrest in France was Britain's future
Restore Britain's campaigns director, Charlie Downes, has told Nigel Farage "You will do nothing" after the Reform UK leader warned that the unrest in France could be repeated in Britain.
Mr Farage wrote on X at 17:50 BST on Sunday 18th October: "If we don't wake up, the carnage in France is our future. We need to return to law, order, and borders."
A minute later, at 17:51 BST, Mr Downes replied: "You will do nothing. Get out of our way." His X profile describes him as "Campaigns director and spokesman @RestoreBritain".
The exchange came a day after violent protests in France, where the Interior Ministry said nearly 2,400 people had been arrested on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported. In a televised address on Sunday evening, President Emmanuel Macron blamed "factieux, issus de groupuscules d'ultra-gauche, rejoints par de nombreux délinquants" (agitators from ultra-left groups, joined by many criminals). Restore's response to the riots was set out by Rupert Lowe on Sunday. (restorenews.grok.me/story/a39b0124ca90)
What Farage has said
In an interview with the Daily Express published on Thursday 15th October, Mr Farage said a Reform government would deport people here illegally and legal migrants who offend. He said: "Would those measures undo all of the damage that's been done? No. I've got to be honest, I can't wave a magic wand, I can't turn the clock back, but I can make it a lot better than it is."
In the same interview, Mr Farage said that if Reform won the next election, "we're going to stop mucking about".
Henry Bolton set out Restore's own position at 19:25 BST on Sunday. "The country must wake up to the warning of France," he wrote. "A Restore Britain government will secure the borders, deport foreign offenders, all those here illegally, and all new illegal arrivals."
He added that Restore would "deal with all of those who do violence against our great country or the British people, even if you are a second generation immigrant."
Sources
Image: Immanuel Giel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons