Nigel Farage has branded Home Secretary James Cleverly a “moron” for taking credit for no small boats crossing the UK channel over Christmas.

On Wednesday, Mr Cleverly posted on X there had been “no small boat arrivals over Christmas for the first time since they started in 2018″.

Today, Mr Farage said: “You may be called Cleverly but you are clearly a moron.

“I am close to Dover now, the wind has been gusting 50mph… That is why there are no migrant crossings.

“You charlatans and liars all deserve to lose your seats at the election.”

The attack comes ahead of the general election to be called in 2024, when Mr Farage’s former political home – the Reform Party – will aim to stand in all constituencies, including against the Tories.

The former UKIP MEP stood down from such a challenge in 2019, when he said his Brexit Party (the precursor to Reform) would not run in seats the Conservatives already held.

With Reform sitting at around 10% in the polls, activists and MPs on the right of the Conservative Party have been eyeing up Mr Farage as a potential saviour should Labour continue its roughly 20-point lead in the opinion polls.

Reform’s leader, Richard Tice, has hinted Mr Farage might make a political comeback after his appearance on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity.

2024 lookahead: Tax cuts, a new PM and a Nigel Farage comeback?

Mr Cleverly’s comments on 27 December came after the government sought to claim victory for small boat crossings being down a third in 2023 when compared to 2022.

Around 29,000 people have crossed in 2023, compared to the roughly 46,000 the year before.

Rishi Sunak has pledged to “stop the boats” and made tackling illegal migration a priority.

The government is currently trying to introduce its third piece of legislation to get the controversial Rwanda deportation plan off the ground, despite criticism from the right of the Tory party that it is not strict enough.

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Mr Cleverly recently had to deny claims he had labelled the scheme “bat****”.

It was one of three recent controversies involving the home secretary, who also had to deny allegations he called a Labour MP’s constituency a “s***hole”.

He also apologised for joking about giving his wife a date-rape drug.

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