Reform Is Enlisting Tech Firms for UK Border Surveillance Plan

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(Bloomberg) — Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf told Bloomberg he’s speaking to tech companies about surveilling the country’s south coast to stop migrants crossing from France, after the party touted a proposal to forcibly return small boats crossing the English Channel back to French shores. 

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Asked by Bloomberg whether Reform had been advised on its proposals to cut irregular migration by businesses such as California-based drone manufacturer Anduril Industries, which has already been awarded a contract with the Home Office to monitor the English Channel, Yusuf said: “Suffice to say we’re talking to the most cutting-edge companies in this space.” 

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Yusuf, who represents Reform on home affairs issues, said he was holding discussions with “lots of companies, including very high tech companies, but I won’t be giving you any names — nice try.” Anduril did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

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The drone developer has made a concerted effort to win business in the UK, and installed sentry towers to overlook the English Channel under a UK government contract. It claims to be able to spot vessels more than 15km (9.3 miles) out to sea and flag them as “suspicious.” 

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Human rights groups have criticized Anduril over a lack of transparency regarding how it stores the data collected by its surveillance systems.

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A few smaller European competitors, including startup Delian Alliance Industries, are pitching governments on similar surveillance tech equipment. Tekever, a Portuguese dronemaker, has worked with the Home Office previously on English Channel surveillance. Neither company responded immediately to a request for comment. 

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Britain’s defense ministry has worked closely with Palantir Technologies Inc, whose involvement with US President Donald Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has made it a lightning rod for criticism. Palantir doesn’t have any known UK border control contracts but has been working to build ties with the right-wing Reform party. 

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Its leader Nigel Farage was the only UK politician to attend a drinks reception Palantir held in Davos earlier this year, and the company hired Charles Carlson to its press team, who formerly worked in a similar role for Reform. Palantir did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

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Monday’s policy announcement, which rival politicians judged unworkable, marked a hardening of Reform’s approach to irregular migration. 

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While the party had previously vowed to deport anyone who arrived on a small boat, Farage now says that if his party wins a general election due by mid-2029, he would deploy military vessels to pick up migrants in the English Channel and send them back to France.

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The departure comes as Farage has made unusually few appearances to the media in recent weeks, after unprecedented scrutiny of his and Reform’s finances.

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Chris Philp, the Conservatives’ home affairs spokesman, called Farage’s latest small board policy a “gimmick”. Labour’s Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said the policy would mean “a lot of time arguing with France.”

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—With assistance from Mark Bergen.

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