The Home Office is providing an additional £100 million to bolster efforts against people-smuggling gangs and support the new "one in, one out" returns agreement with France. The funding will also enhance technology and intelligence-gathering capabilities to tackle small boat crossings.
The cash injection will pay for up to 300 additional National Crime Agency (NCA) officers and new equipment to strengthen operations against smuggling networks. There will be increased overtime for immigration compliance teams and funding for interventions across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Record crossings prompt action
Labour is seeking to deter smuggling gangs as small boat crossings have topped 25,000 for the year so far - a record for this point in the year. The Government hopes the enhanced enforcement will help bring down these numbers significantly.
The "one in, one out" deal agreed last month represents a breakthrough in UK-France cooperation. For the first time, the UK will be able to send migrants back to France in exchange for asylum seekers with links to Britain.
New prison sentences introduced
Anyone advertising small boat crossings or fake passports on social media could face up to five years in prison under a new offence. This will be introduced under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill currently progressing through Parliament.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Labour had established foundations for a "new and much stronger law enforcement approach" over the past year. She described the additional funding as a way to "turbo-charge" law enforcement agencies' ability to track gangs and bring them down.
Ongoing investigations revealed
The NCA currently has 91 ongoing investigations into people-smuggling networks affecting the UK, according to the agency's director general of operations Rob Jones. This demonstrates the scale of criminal activity targeting British borders.
Cooper emphasised that the funding would strengthen every aspect of the Government's plan, working with overseas partners and using "state-of-the-art technology and equipment". She said this would help drive forward commitments to protect border security and restore order to the immigration system.
Conservative criticism emerges
The Conservatives criticised the funding announcement as a "desperate grab for headlines which will make no real difference". Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of failing in their promise to tackle smuggling gangs.
Philp said Labour had "no serious plan, just excuses, while ruthless criminal gangs flood our borders with illegal immigrants". He claimed the Conservative Deportation Bill offered the only real solution through immediate detention and rapid removal.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
