PM vows to stamp out 'vile' people smuggling trade as he pledges extra £75m
Starmer told the Interpol general assembly that the international community must do 'everything possible' to deepen cross-border efforts to stop people smuggling, ITV News Political Correspondent Harry Horton reports
Sir Keir Starmer has said that people smuggling should be viewed as a threat "similar to terrorism" as he pledged an additional £75 million to tackle gangs and end small boat crossings.
The boost will take the UK's new Border Security Command's total funding to £150 million over two years. The money will be earmarked to create a new immigration crime intelligence unit.
It will be used to fund high-tech surveillance equipment and 100 specialist investigators who will target criminals engaged in people smuggling.
Starmer said he wants to “stop smuggling gangs before they act” in the same way intelligence services do in counter-terrorism operations.
He said: “Look what we’ve done with counter-terrorism. We have the powers to trace suspects’ movements using information from the intelligence services.
“We can shut down their bank account, cut off their internet access and arrest them for making preparations to act before an attack has taken place.
“We don’t wait for them to act. We stop them before they act. And we need to stop people-smuggling gangs before they act too.”
The government also intends to legislate to give border security forces “enhanced” powers, expected to involve expanding counter-terror tactics to deal with people smuggling.
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, announced in the King’s Speech in July, will be the fourth piece of immigration legislation since 2022 as successive governments have attempted to tackle this issue.
The prime minister said: "People smuggling should be viewed as a global security threat similar to terrorism. We’ve got to combine resources, share intelligence and tactics, and tackle the problem upstream, working together to shut down the smuggling routes.”
He added: “When I was the director of public prosecutions, it was my personal mission to smash the terrorist gangs and we worked across borders to ensure the safety of citizens across Europe and across the world.
“Now, as the UK’s prime minister, it is my personal mission to smash the people smuggling gangs, and, look, that starts here in the UK.”
His speech comes after more than 5,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats in October, making it the busiest month of the year so far for crossings.
Crossings continued into November, with 433 people arriving in the UK via small boats over the first two days of the month.
In total, 31,904 people have made the journey so far this year, up 16.5% on the same point in 2023 (26,699) but still down 22.1% on the same point in 2022 (39,929).
Later in the week, the prime minister is expected to attend a summit of the European Political Community in Hungary, where migration and people smuggling are expected to feature on the agenda.
Starmer added that ignoring the deaths of migrants crossing the Channel is not progressive and that "this is a vile trade that must be stamped out wherever it thrives."
Enver Solomon, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council, told ITV News that enforcement measures alone will not end people smuggling.
He said: “The government has a vital role to play in tackling cross-border organised crime and maintaining national security. But it must not lose sight of its equally important role ensuring the UK provides sanctuary for those fleeing persecution and violence.
"The men, women, and children who take dangerous journeys across the Channel do so because they are escaping brutal conflict and oppressive regimes in countries like Sudan and Afghanistan. Granting them a fair hearing on UK soil so they are given the safety they desperately need matters just as much as disrupting the gangs.
“The government must recognise that enforcement measures alone will not end this horrific trade. Without safe and legal routes for refugees, people in desperate situations are left with no alternative but to turn to dangerous journeys controlled by smugglers.
"Expanding safe routes should be an integral part of any strategy to reduce crossings. The government must balance strong action against criminal networks with its commitment to uphold international rules that provide safety to those who need it most.”
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Along with the investment in the Border Security Command, the prime minister will announce a £6 million increase in the UK’s support for Interpol as it tackles global organised crime.
The government will also provide £24 million to tackle serious international crime affecting the UK, including drugs, firearms and fraud, particularly in the Western Balkans.
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Keir Starmer’s announcement on tackling gangs will mean absolutely nothing without a deterrent to stop migrants wishing to make the dangerous journey across the Channel.
“It is a shame that Starmer has not recognised the extent of the crisis in the Channel sooner, as he and the Labour Party voted against numerous measures to stop the gangs while they were in opposition.
“If Starmer continues to ignore the need for a deterrent to stop migrants crossing the Channel, there will be more deaths in the Channel as more and more migrants continue to cross it. He needs to get a grip of the crisis in the Channel.”
Graeme Biggar, director general of the National Crime Agency, said: “Serious and organised crime causes more harm, to more people, more often than any other national security threat. And almost all of serious and organised crime now has an international nexus.
“Distance, borders and languages are meaningless to criminals. This is why collaborations with Interpol have never been as important as they are today.
“Tackling organised crime, and especially immigration crime, remains a top priority for the NCA. We are currently leading around 70 investigations into the gangs or individuals involved in the highest echelons of this type of criminality, and we are devoting more resources to it than ever before.”
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