UKIP's new leader has called for Britain to aim for zero net migration to stop the country being "swamped".

Henry Bolton told Sky News a drastic change was needed, but admitted it would be "very difficult" to hit such a target.

In 2015, Nigel Farage proposed stopping all low and un-skilled workers coming into the country and a cap of 50,000 on high-skilled immigrants.

Mr Bolton said the net figure should be zero to ease pressure on services and infrastructure.

Image: UKIP wants to keep its policy of zero net migration

He told the Sunday with Paterson show: "We are as a country being swamped by the fact we're having a net immigration that is approximately the size of Wolverhampton or Hull ever year.


"That's difficult to cope with in terms of our services and infrastructure when we're cutting police by 25%, for example, local government in some cases by 50%."

He initially rejected to say how many people should be let into the country each year, describing it as "arbitrary".

Image: Bolton was elected UKIP leader in September

But Mr Bolton conceded: "In an ideal world, and I'm not saying this is practical, we should be aiming - certainly for the next few years - to zero net immigration.

"But the chances of hitting zero net immigration - it's a very difficult target to hit, for no other reason than the fact net immigration is also affected by the number of people who leave the country, and we can't control how many people leave the country.

Mr Bolton, who became UKIP's fourth leader in 12 months at a conference in Torquay last month, added he would not promise things the party knew it could not achieve.

Image: The UKIP leader called for burqas to be banned in public places

The former Liberal Democrat and army officer also said burqas should be included on a list of banned face coverings in public places that also included motorcycle helmets.

And he said his work as a diplomat in the Middle East had made him "learnt a lot about" Islam. "It's been an education," he said.

Mr Bolton also blasted the Government over its Brexit handling, saying it had been "negligent in the extreme" for conducting "no planning and preparation" for a 'no deal' divorce.