Boris Johnson has said Geert Wilders is 'patently Islamophobic' (Image: Getty)
Boris Johnson has described the far-right politician Geert Wilders as "patently Islamophobic" and tipped him to become the next leader of the Netherlands.
The former prime minister used a new column to draw attention to Mr Wilders' electoral success in the Netherlands to make the case for Britain to take tougher action to curb net migration.
According to the latest data, net migration has hit a record high, sparking a backlash among Conservative MPs.
Mr Johnson also pointed to Ireland, suggesting the pace of migration is becoming a problem there and citing riots in Dublin in the aftermath of a horrific knife attack in the city which saw three children and a woman injured.
The ex-PM wrote in the Daily Mail: "People will not accept demographic change at this kind of pace — even in the most achingly liberal of countries and capital cities. Look at what is happening in Dublin, where that lovely and happy city seems to have been engulfed by race riots.
"Look at Holland, where a patently -Islamophobic candidate, Geert Wilders, has just won 35 seats in the parliament and may yet become prime minister."
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Geert Wilders celebrates Dutch election exit poll results
Mr Wilders, who has been called the Dutch Donald Trump, surged to a huge election victory which has marked a stunning lurch to the far right for a country once famed as a beacon of tolerance.
The result has sent shockwaves across Europe which now faces the possibility of having to deal with the first far-right prime minister of the Netherlands.
The Party for Freedom (PVV), which is led by the veteran anti-Islam lawmaker, won 37 seats in the 150-seat lower house.
The election results paved the way for Mr Wilders, 60, to take the lead in forming a new coalition and potentially succeeding Mark Rutte as prime minister.
Mr Wilders had toned down his Islamophobia during the election campaign, telling the media he could put his views "on ice".
In the past, the populist was widely condemned for describing the Qur'an as a "fascist book", calling for headscarves to be taxed and for the Netherlands' borders to be closed.
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Protesters confront riot police during disorder sparked by the knifing of three children in Dublin (Image: PA)
A senator from the PVV was appointed on Friday to investigate possible governing coalitions while the party of outgoing Prime Minister Rutte said it would support a centre-right administration in parliament, but not join the next government.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson said the people of Ireland and Holland are among "the nicest, kindest, most generous in the world" and yet there are "plainly large numbers" in both countries beginning to worry the EU's free movement has "too many downsides".
He added: "Well, the whole point of Brexit is that we are no longer in the same legal subservience as Ireland and Holland.
"We have the powers to sort it out, and to change our immigration rules - which is exactly why the British people voted to take back those powers in 2016. We can do it now."
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Geert Wilders speaks to the media amid coalition talks at the Dutch parliament (Image: Getty)
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has admitted UK net migration levels are "too high", but refused to comment on suggestions drawn up by immigration minister Robert Jenrick to propose cutting the number of dependents foreign workers can bring with them.
Net migration into the UK peaked at 745,000 in the year to December 2022, which is a record high according to revised estimates published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday (November 23).
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The data places migration levels at three times higher than before Brexit, despite a Conservative Party 2019 manifesto pledge to bring overall numbers down.
Many MPs on the right of the party, including sacked home secretary Suella Braverman, have called on Mr Sunak to honour that commitment.
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