Plans to tackle the “national security threat” of people smugglers will receive an extra £75m and a new team of detectives, Keir Starmer will announce on Monday, in the latest move to curb small boats in the Channel.
The prime minister is expected to address irregular migration at two events this week amid concern within No 10 that the government must offer a viable alternative to the Conservatives’ defunct Rwanda scheme.
In a speech at the Interpol general assembly in Glasgow on Monday, he will say that the government will double funding to £150m for the Border Security Command, the enforcement agency launched by the Labour government this Summer.
The money will be used to fund hi-tech surveillance equipment and 100 specialist investigators who will target criminals engaged in people smuggling, he will say.
He will tell dignitaries and senior police from nearly 200 countries that the international community must tackle people smuggling gangs with the same tactics used to stop terrorism.
“The world needs to wake up to the severity of this challenge. I was elected to deliver security for the British people. And strong borders are a part of that. But security doesn’t stop at our borders.
“There’s nothing progressive about turning a blind eye as men, women and children die in the Channel,” he will say.
Starmer will tell the gathering that the counter-terror tactics could include the ability to shut down bank accounts, cut off internet access and seize evidence before offences take place.
“We’re taking our approach to counter-terrorism, which we know works, and applying it to the gangs, with our new Border Security Command.
“We’re ending the fragmentation between policing, Border Force and our intelligence agencies,” he will say.
Later in the week, he will hold talks on the boats crisis with European leaders, including the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, at a summit in Hungary.
Despite irregular immigration into the EU being a fraction of what it was in 2015, EU countries are seeking new hardline measures to tackle it.
“Partnership deals” that the EU and individual members states such as Italy have signed with countries such as Turkey, Tunisia and Libya, which are aimed at dissuading people from trying to reach Europe in the first place, are expected to be discussed.
Fourteen member states, including France and Germany, have signed a letter demanding a tough “paradigm shift” on migration. Many want to see a significant increase in the “rate of returns”.
The government also intends to legislate to give border security forces “enhanced” powers.
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.
Refugee charities have warned Starmer that enforcement measures alone will fail to stop the boats and could lead to desperate people taking more dangerous and deadly journeys.
Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “The government must recognise that enforcement measures alone will not end this horrific trade. It must balance strong action against criminal networks with its commitment to uphold international rules that provide safety to those who need it most.”
Responding to the announcement, a spokesperson for the Conservatives said:“Keir Starmer’s announcement on tackling gangs will mean absolutely nothing without a deterrent.
“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.”
Starmer will chair his first monthly meeting of key cabinet ministers on illegal migration on Tuesday to make sure progress is made on the government mission.
The Home Office said 230 people crossed the English Channel in small boats on Thursday. In October, 5,417 people made the crossing, the highest monthly figure since October 2022. The total for 2024 so far stands at 30,661. More than 50 people have died trying to cross the Channel this year, the highest since figures were first recorded in 2018.
