Tories would ‘potentially’ strike returns deal with Taliban, says party chairman

The Conservatives would “potentially” strike a deal with the Taliban to return Afghan Channel migrants, the party’s chairman has said.

Kevin Hollinrake’s comments come after Nigel Farage raised the possibility of Reform UK negotiating a returns agreement with the Afghan government if his party came to power.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch had refused to say whether she would consider such an agreement, but when asked on Wednesday if the party would consider a returns deal with the Taliban, Mr Hollinrake told Times Radio: “Well, potentially, yes.”

But he later told Sky News such a deal would be “very expensive” and have “very significant” human rights consequences, adding that the previous government’s proposal of deporting people to Rwanda had been “a better way of doing that”.

‘Deterrent’

On Tuesday, Reform UK said it would launch a policy of “mass deportations” if it came to power, removing up to 600,000 people from the UK over five years and providing a “deterrent” to people seeking to cross the Channel in small boats.

As part of that drive, the party said it would make the Foreign Office’s “highest priority” securing returns agreements with other countries including Afghanistan to “take back their illegal migrants”.

The party said this process would include financial incentives for countries accepting deportees, but Mr Farage refused to answer questions on what he would offer the Taliban or other regimes such as Iran to secure a deal.

The proposal brought criticism from the Liberal Democrats, whose deputy leader Daisy Cooper described it as a “Taliban tribute plan” using “British taxpayers’ cash to fund their oppressive regime”.

Returns

But the UK Government did not rule out such a policy, with the Prime Minister’s official spokesman saying it was “not going to take anything off the table in terms of striking returns agreements with countries around the world”.

In the 12 months up to June 2025, Afghans made up 15% of small boat arrivals – the most common nationality arriving by that method ahead of Eritreans, Iranians and Syrians.

The UK has not recognised the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan since the group seized Kabul in 2021 and re-established a regime based on an extreme interpretation of Islamic law.

But the UK Government does pursue a policy of “limited and pragmatic” engagement with Taliban officials through the Qatar-based UK Mission to Afghanistan when it is deemed to be in the national interest.