Essex Police misleading on migrant crime - Farage

Nigel Farage has accused Essex Police of "misleading" people about how many crimes are committed by asylum seekers.

The Reform UK leader said Chief Constable Rachel Nolan was "completely wrong" to say nobody should be concerned about criminality from migrants housed at MDP Wethersfield, Essex.

Nolan said crime linked to the accommodation near Braintree was "very low", with 15 offences since it opened in 2023 in which a member of the public was the victim and the suspect was identified as, or alleged to be, a Wethersfield "service user".

A force spokesman said incidents relating to asylum seekers there "remain low", but that it understood how communities felt was "incredibly important".

Farage spoke to the BBC while patrolling with uniformed security guards funded by Reform-led Essex County Council in Chelmsford.

Operation Vanguard involves six trained and uniformed "security operatives" patrolling Chelmsford, Colchester and Braintree city centres seven days a week, from 10:00 to 18:00, as part of a three-month trial.

When asked what he thought of Nolan saying criminality associated with Wethersfield should not concern people, Farage said she was "completely wrong".

"The statistics from all over the country are eye-wateringly bad," the Clacton MP said, and added he felt police were being "misleading" about the topic.

Farage did not clarify which statistics he was referring to.

He added: "Let's face it, Wethersfield's not been open long."

In her interview with the BBC in September, Nolan had said: "Crimes and incidents associated with the Wethersfield site are very low.

"Certainly, as far as I've seen, there is absolutely no reason for anyone to be concerned about criminality associated with migrants from the Wethersfield camp."

The spokesman for her force added 23 arrests relating to Wethersfield asylum seekers had been made during 2026 and the majority were migrant-on-migrant offences.

In a lengthy statement, it said: "Since the Wethersfield site opened three years ago, there have been 38,677 incidents attended by officers across the whole Braintree district.

"That means incidents at Wethersfield have made up 0.57% of all incidents attended in the district."

They added that officers "respond robustly" when incidents occur.

Essex County Council said it launched Operation Vanguard in September in response to minibuses being used to take asylum seekers from Wethersfield for days out.

The trial is expected to cost almost £120,000.

Farage said it had helped to tackle shoplifting and one "quite serious" sexual assault.

"Whether it's people who've crossed the English Channel who are causing harassment and no good, or whether it's crime more generally, I think what Vanguard are doing is a fantastic job.

"I want to see this rolled out much more widely."

Farage also took aim at police forces more broadly, saying they had "given up" on catching shoplifters.

"The police do not fulfil the job, sadly, that they used to and if we can help in areas where we run the council in filling that gap, making people feel safer, it's a good thing," he added.

Essex Police officers secured more than 4,000 shop theft charges over the past year, a rise of 3,500 in the 12 months before.

"Not a week goes by where these thieves don't appear in the courts across Essex as a result of the hard work by our officers," the spokesman added.

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