Europe must close its borders or it will be swamped by the Third World, said British National Party leader and Member of the European Parliament Nick Griffin.

Speaking on a Brussels-based BBC show The Record Europe, Mr Griffin said the only way to make sure that the mass immigration invasion stopped was to sink some of the invaders’ boats before they got to shore.

“The EU should sink boats carrying illegal immigrants to prevent them entering Europe,” Mr Griffin told the BBC.

“If there are measures to set up some kind of force or to help, say the Italians, set up a force which actually blocks the Mediterranean, then we’d support that.

“But the only measure, sooner or later, which is going to stop immigration and stop large numbers of sub-Saharan Africans dying on the way to get over here is to get very tough with those coming over. Frankly, they need to sink several of those boats,” he said.

“Anyone coming up with measures like that we’ll support but anything which is there as an ‘oh, we need to do something about it’ but in the end doing something about it means bringing them into Europe, we will oppose.”

Mr Griffin said that if some boats were sunk before they reached the southern European coast, the people on the boats could be given a life raft “and they can go back to Libya.”

“But Europe has sooner or later to close its borders or it’s simply going to be swamped by the Third World.”

Speaking to BNP News after the interview, Mr Griffin said the move would actually save lives. “Thousands of Africans drown every year in their attempts to cross the Mediterranean in their rickety unseaworthy boats,” he said. “They undertake this hazardous journey because they are convinced that if they get to Europe, they will be allowed in.

“If they get the message very clearly that they will under no circumstances be allowed in, they will stop coming. Ultimately, it is the only solution to this ongoing problem.”

Recommended reading: Tomorrow is Another Country: What is Wrong with the UK’s Asylum Policy? By Myles Harris.

The key to the failure of our immigration policy is Britain’s adherence to the European Convention on Human Rights. Created in the 1950s to offer refuge to the victims of Soviet persecution, it has been developed to offer asylum to anybody in the world. In October 2000 the Labour government passed the Human Rights Act, which incorporates the provisions of the Convention into British law. As a result, any refugees who set foot in Britain must be admitted to have their claims heard. Most manage to stay even if their claims are refused. If people cannot enjoy human rights in their own countries, they are entitled to enjoy them here. Softcover, 123 pp. £5.00. Click here to order.