Pauline Hanson says she 'loves' the idea of mass deportations in Australia after meeting with controversial leader of hard-right Restore Britain party in the UK

By ASHLEY NICKEL FOR DAILY MAIL and ZAC DE SILVA FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: 16:02, 19 July 2026 | Updated: 16:18, 19 July 2026 Pauline Hanson appeared to be enamoured with the idea of deporting huge sections of Australia's population during a meeting with a politician in the UK. Hanson met with Rupert Lowe, the founder and leader of Restore Britain, during her recent well-publicised trip to Europe, with the interaction filmed by Seven's Spotlight. She met the conservative MP at the $20million home of former Neighbours star Holly Valance and was handed a manifesto titled 'Mass Deportation'. Lowe, who was once a member of Nigel Farage's Reform UK party before founding his own positioned even further to the right, described the pamphlet as 'a jewel of what you need to do in Australia'. 'I'll have a good read of this. We're very much on the same page,' Hanson said. The booklet details Lowe's plans to expel almost two-million people from the UK within three years through mass-deportation. On top of the huge wave of deportations, the plan also outlines how to make a 'hostile environment' for illegal immigrants by denying them welfare, housing and health services. The goal is to remove as many 'illegal' immigrants as possible and making life so uncomfortable for those remaining that they'll leave voluntarily. Pauline Hanson (above) told Seven's Spotlight she 'loves' the idea of bringing the UK's far-right plan for mass deportation to Australia Hanson (right) was given a 'mass deportation' booklet by Rupert Lowe (left), the founder and leader of Restore Britain Seven asked Hanson: 'Do you think Senator, this concept of mass deportation is a good one?' Throughout the episode, Hanson repeatedly claimed Australia had fallen victim to a wave of illegal immigrants, primarily of Middle Eastern origin.  She claimed 100,000 people in Australia 'get off the airplane, destroy their identification... overstay their visas and play refugees'. Seven highlighted that the data tells a different story. It found Australia had about 77,700 illegal immigrants. Most of those people are students or tourists from China, Malaysia and the United States who stayed after their visas were expired or cancelled. Another of Hanson's meetings was with far-right anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson. In the nearly hour-long conversation with Robinson, published by him on Friday, Hanson accused people from 'Muslim areas' of ripping off the National Disability Insurance Scheme.  Hanson (left) also appeared on a podcast with anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson (right) When asked how Australia had ended up with 'Pakistanis, Somalis, all of these African problems with violent Africans', Hanson said it started with the end of the White Australia Policy. The postwar flood of migrants was different to today's situation because the new arrivals 'learned to speak English', she said. She also claimed without evidence that 'a lot' of the nearly 800,000 people on the National Disability Insurance Scheme were from 'Muslim areas' but added there were many other Australians on the program too. 'A lot of them are ripping the system off ... a lot from the Muslim areas and they're getting on the scheme, but there's a lot of Aussies too,' she said. It's understood Hanson was referencing the immigration surge from 2022 to 2023 when Australia's population grew by 518,000 after the country was closed for two years due to Covid. The figure has fallen each year after, with net overseas migration sitting at 301,000 in 2025. Health and NDIS minister Mark Butler said he was loath to respond to the podcast because Robinson was a convicted criminal who'd been disowned by leading figures on the right, but added he'd never seen a breakdown in nationality or religious background of NDIS participants. 'I'm not sure where Ms Hanson is getting her figures from, but they've never been provided to me ... I suspect they don't exist,' he told ABC Radio National on Friday.  Hanson (pictured with Robinson) falsely claimed Australia was accepting nearly 800,000 immigrants every year Butler said Senator Hanson needed to explain why she travelled to Europe at a time when Australians were struggling with the cost of living. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the comments and the decision to meet Robinson were appalling. 'Pauline Hanson is the most un-Australian politician in parliament, and she should come home, face the music, and apologise,' she said.