I’ve followed Nigel Farage’s career since I was a humble politics student in 2013. The following 10 years Mr Farage appeared to be more or less the same character. But at today’s crime press conference, I believe we’re beginning to see a fundamentally different politician than we’ve become used to.

Nigel is one of the best-known politicians not just in Britain but on the continent. His presence has been a ubiquitous phenomenon, and any rapid change in how he presented himself would come across as insincere. That’s why I find the man I saw today particularly interesting.

Slowly but surely, Reform is being led by a man who truly looks like he could be a prime minister. Not in the sense that Labour is falling off a cliff and the Tories are still hated by a majority of voters, but in a conventional sense he looks like a grown up.

That’s not for a second to suggest Nigel Farage has become ‘establishment’. The words coming out of his mouth today on migrants raping young girls, on deporting people to Afghanistan and putting illegal migrants in military bases would not be said by any other party leader.

But the presentation we were given signalled that Reform really is now in the mindset of preparing to be our next government.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch hit out at Nigel Farage after Reform’s new justice adviser Vanessa Frake said trans women should be “risk assessed on an individual basis” rather than automatically removed from women’s prisons.

Asked about the ex-prison governor’s comments at a press conference, the Reform leader said: “When it comes to trans women in prisons, isn’t it interesting that we run our country with people who become ministers who generally have no idea of the subject matter that they’re talking about.

“I’ve personally never worked in a prison so I can’t answer it but I think you’ll find the answer you get from somebody who has worked in prisons at the highest possible level is basically it’s about risk assessment.”

In a post on X, Mrs Badenoch insisted that the Tories are the “only party standing up for women-only space”.

She added: “After the Supreme Court judgment, we shouldn’t be hearing anymore about men being put in women’s prisons. Yet here we are. As usual, Reform have not done their homework and will make a big mess.”

Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Reform are doodling fantasy prisons on the back of a pub napkin.

“Once again Nigel Farage has made wild promises to the British public but completely failed to set out how he intends to pay for any of them. Empty words, zero plan, and not a shred of credibility.

“Only the Conservatives, under new leadership, believe in sound money, zero tolerance on crime, and serious leadership. Britain deserves better than this façade.”

A Labour spokesperson added: “It’s farcical that Farage can’t say what his policies are, how much they would cost, or how they would even work. Reform aren’t serious and don’t have a clue as to how they would address the challenges facing working people.”

Nigel Farage claimed Labour was “sinking to the gutter of politics” after minister Jess Phillips doubled down on comparisons to Jimmy Savile.

Ms Phillips, the Home Office minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, suggested Reform’s pledge to scrap the Online Safety Act would empower “modern-day Jimmy Saviles”.

Her comments come after Technology Secretary Peter Kyle sparked controversy when he said Mr Farage was putting himself on the side of “extreme pornographers” and people like Savile by opposing the law.

The Reform UK leader told the press conference: “It is just sinking to the gutter of politics to make that comparison.

“I repeat the point we would love to see effective legislation that protected young children from harmful and dangerous material. This Act does not do that and this Act then extends right into the area of free speech.”

Asked where small boat arrivals should be sent back to if their country isn’t safe, Mr Farage said: “I’m sorry, I’ve had enough of this.

“If you come from Afghanistan, you go back to Afghanistan, end of.

“This idea we can’t send people to certain countries, all the false claims people make about their own personal lives.

“I’m sorry, we’re done, we’ve had enough.”

Nigel Farage warned that the Online Safety Act is “the beginning of state censorship” as he took questions from the press.

Under rules that came into effect last month as part of the legislation, which Reform has pledged to scrap, online platforms such as social media sites and search engines must take steps to prevent children from accessing harmful content such as pornography or material that encourages suicide.

Mr Farage has said the act threatens freedom of speech and open debate.

Reform’s new justice adviser Vanessa Frake said: “I want a tougher prison regime for prisoners who will never be rehabilitated.

“I look at the supermax prisons in America and I’d like to see a version of that replicated in Britain.

“And for the prisoners who won’t serve life sentences, well let’s try and make a real effort at rehabilitation and release them back into the communities to be more useful members of society upon that release.”

She said she believed Nigel Farage was best placed to “restore law and order to Britain”.

Former prison governor Vanessa Frake announced that she was “officially joining Reform UK” and will work on the party’s law and order task force.

She said: “I’m not a traditional politician, I’ve never been a member of any political party, I’ve actually had a real job working within our prison service ensuring criminals are locked up, the public are kept safe and prison officers are protected.

“When I started at HMP Wormwood Scrubs I was assigned the task of clearing up D-wing. D-wing was the lifer wing, it was the worst of the worst where the lifers spent their time. It was dirty, run down and had major drug issues.

“My attitude to the task was assertive and no-nonsense. That’s the approach I will take for my role within Reform UK.”

Rupert Matthews, a former Tory MEP, told the press conference: “I was in the European Parliament with Nigel, I saw the daily abuse, sneering and contempt that was heaped on him by the great and the good.

“But Nigel didn’t cave in, he had a vision of Britain free of the EU. And against all the odds he achieved that.

“Today, he has a clear vision of Britain free of the tired old regime and he has got the courage to deliver that vision.

“The self-serving, self-entitled liberal elite who have let our country down time after time are now on notice. Their day is almost done.

“Be they Conservative or Labour governments, everyone knows our politicians have failed us all. They have let this country down, they have let the Britain people down. Enough, now it is time for Reform.”

Rupert Matthew, the new Reform police and crime commissioner, said: “We need to cut the dark heart of wokeness out of our criminal justice system and allow the police and courts to get back to what they’re supposed to be doing which is keeping our communities safe.”

He added: “As police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire and Rutland I face a daily fight against crime.

“I see ordinary, hard-working people burgled, robbed and mugged. Shoplifting is getting out of control, anti-social behaviour is turning too many of our town centre into an apocalyptic wasteland of lawless Britain.

“I’ve got nothing but admiration for our police officers and PCSOs, they’re doing a fantastic job, but they’re fighting crime with one hand tied behind their back.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage announced that Rupert Matthews, the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire and Rutland, had defected to his insurgent party.

Mr Matthews has held the position since 2021, and served as an MEP for the East Midlands for the Tories between 2017 and 2019.

Nigel Farage is up with four guests, including his new justice tsar and the 19-year-old chief of Warwickshire county council.

I’m sitting in Reform UK’s new very swanky offices and bespoke briefing room in Millbank Tower, awaiting their press conference that should begin in about 45 minutes.

Labour’s Jess Phillips claimed Nigel Farage would empower “modern-day Jimmy Saviles” with Reform UK’s pledge to repeal the Online Safety Act.

The Home Office minister waded into the row with the Reform leader sparked by Technology Secretary Peter Kyle last week.

Mr Kyle sparked fury from Mr Farage after saying he was putting himself on the side of “extreme pornographers” and people like Savile by opposing the law.

Under rules that came into effect earlier this month as part of the act, online platforms such as social media sites and search engines must take steps to prevent children from accessing harmful content such as pornography or material that encourages suicide.

But Mr Farage has said the legislation threatens freedom of speech and open debate.

Writing in The Times, Ms Phillips said: “Farage said it’s the biggest threat to freedom of speech in our lifetimes.

“My colleague Peter Kyle said he was siding with modern-day Jimmy Saviles preying on children online.”

On the death penalty, Vanessa Drake said she did not “think it’s the answer”.

Reform’s new justice adviser added: “It’s not a deterrent to murder; what I would like to see is much better management of high-risk, high-violent offenders.”

Asked whether she was willing to have a “difficult conversation” with party leader Nigel Farage, Reform’s new justice adviser Vanessa Frake told Times Radio: “He might have his own views but he will listen far more than any other party has listened in the past.”

Shorter sentences mean prisoners “lose their support systems on the outside”, Vanessa Frake has warned.

Reform UK’s new justice adviser told Times Radio: “In a prison, now they do 40% of a sentence.

“There’s very little you can do with somebody who is addicted to drugs, alcohol, has mental health issues. There is very little you can do within a prison at that time.

“And when people are sentenced to short sentences, they lose their support systems on the outside. They lose their home if they had one, they lose family support and we let them out with nothing so their only alternative is to commit crime and get on that crime ladder, and that needs to be addressed.

“What I would like to see is much better community services, much better community and substance misuse services outside of prisons, and much better management of prisoners on the outside.”

Reform UK’s new justice adviser has called for bolstered prisoner “rehabilitation”, as she accused previous governments of having “failed and failed miserably” on crime and punishment.

Former prison governor and author Vanessa Frake told Times Radio: “I read every week negative press about our prison service and drugs, mobiles, violence, suicide, self-harm, etcetera, etcetera.

“And you know, the time is now for somebody to do something about it. Successive governments have failed and failed miserably and, you know, that’s why our prison service now is on its knees.”

She said: “I’m not naive in the fact that people don’t want to spend money on prisons – they’d rather it went to the NHS, to education – I’m not naive at all about that.

“But actually, if you think about the whole picture, at the moment we’re warehousing prisoners and we’re turning out better criminals into our society.

“I’d like to see it where we actually do some rehabilitation and make our society safer for our children, and that is going to cost money but at least somebody is listening to others.”

Nigel Farage is due to give a press conference in central London at 11am today.

The Reform UK leader, who is expected to be joined by three guests including a defector, will make a fresh announcement on law and order as part of the insurgent party’s ongoing campaign.

He wrote on X: “I will hold the most significant event of our crime campaign so far at 11am tomorrow.”