Border Security Command funding to double to £150m to ‘smash the gangs’
Another £75m will go towards “smashing the gangs” as the government beefs up its new Border Security Command unit.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce the additional funding as he hosts the Interpol general assembly in Glasgow from today, the first time the UK has hosted it in more than 50 years.
The announcement, which kicks off a week-long blitz by Sir Keir on people smuggling, will bring total funding over the next two years to £150m for the Border Security Command (BSC) set up by the Labour government to “smash the gangs” – a new slogan introduced during the election campaign.
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Labour’s initial £75m for the BSC came from scrapping the former Conservative government’s Rwanda scheme, where illegal immigrants and asylum seekers would have been sent to Rwanda for processing, asylum and resettlement.
The new £75m will go towards National Crime Agency (NCA) technology so agents can exploit data and “boost collaboration” with other European countries to “investigate and break people smuggling networks”.
It will also fund 300 border security command staff and 100 NCA specialist investigators and intelligence officers who will be dedicated to catching criminals facilitating people smuggling.
The Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) ability to deliver charging decisions more quickly on international organised crime cases will also be funded by it.
October had the highest number of small boat crossings this year. Pic: PA
Sir Keir is expected to tell senior ministers and policing leads from Interpol’s 196 member states: “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.
“This is a vile trade that must be stamped out – wherever it thrives. So 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.”
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Migrant tells Sky about crossing the channel
The government announced in the King’s Speech it will introduce the border security, asylum and immigration bill as it tries to tackle the issue of illegal immigrants coming into the UK, especially on small boats.
It will be the fourth piece of immigration legislation since 2022 as both the former Conservative government and current Labour government attempt to tackle the issue.
Appearing on Sky News this morning, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper would not be drawn on how soon the number of small boat crossings could fall as a result of the funding.
She said the prime minister has made clear “we want to see significant progress made”, but the government needs partnerships with other countries and “that’s what we’re working on”.
Asked if French authorities could be doing more to stop the departures, she said more can be done through all European countries “along the supply chain” and the UK “has to be in partnership with those countries”.
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Small boat crossings reached this year’s high in October, with more than 5,000 people crossing.
Over the first two days of November, 433 people arrived in the UK via small boats.
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 this week, Sir Keir is expected to attend a summit of the European Political Community in Hungary, with migration and people smuggling expected to feature.
The PM will also announce a £6m increase in the UK’s support for Interpol to tackle global organised crime, and £24m to tackle serious international crime affecting the UK, particularly in the Western Balkans.
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Why immigration isn’t being reduced
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.”
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When Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is just one point behind you in the opinion polls, the last thing you want to be reminded about is Brexit.
If you’re Sir Keir Starmer, that is.
No doubt Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, was trying to be friendly. After all, as Sir Keir said, they share a passion for Arsenal Football Club.
But when Mr Tusk declared at their joint news conference in Warsaw that his dream was “instead of a Brexit, we will have a Breturn”, Sir Keir visibly cringed.
Was it an ambush? Not quite. But it was certainly awkward for the UK prime minister. He stood stiffly and didn’t respond, not once uttering the word “Brexit”.
Mr Tusk, however, has form for bemoaning Brexit. He was, after all, the president of the European Council when the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016.
He might now be in his second spell as Poland’s PM, but his five years at the EU make him the ultimate Brussels insider, who’s never made any attempt to hide his feelings on Brexit.
Prior to the UK referendum, in September 2015, he said Brexit “could be the beginning of the destruction of not only the EU but also of western political civilisation in its entirety”.
His most outspoken attack on the UK’s Eurosceptics came in 2019 when the-then prime minister Theresa May was struggling to get a deal. He spoke of “what the special place in hell looks like for those who promoted Brexit“.
Sir Keir also visited Ukraine on his trip to Eastern Europe. Pic: PA
Standing alongside Sir Keir, he revealed that “for obvious reasons” they discussed co-operation between the UK and the EU. He recalled that his emotional reaction to the referendum in 2016 was “I already miss you”.
He went on: “This is not just about emotions and sentiments – I am aware this is a dream of mine, that instead of a Brexit we will have a Breturn.
“Perhaps I’m labouring under an illusion. I’d rather be an optimist and harbour these dreams in my heart – sometimes they come true in politics.”
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A dream? Or a calculated move? As a Brussels insider, was Mr Tusk speaking for the EU as a whole? Was he doing Brussels’ bidding?
He may have returned to lead his homeland, but he remains a key player in Brussels.
On becoming Poland’s PM in 2023, he ended a dispute with Brussels which unlocked billions of frozen EU funds for his country.
He also orchestrated the return of his centre-right ally Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission president.
And Poland has just taken over the rotating presidency of the EU, which means Mr Tusk will be hugely influential once again, chairing meetings and setting agendas.
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Poland is back in the European mainstream. It’s where Mr Tusk would like the UK to be as well.
It’s where, privately, Sir Keir would like the UK to be. It’s just that with Reform UK almost neck and neck with Labour in the polls, he daren’t say so.
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