Starmer to pledge more cash for border command in blitz on small boats

The Border Security Command is set to see its funding doubled as Sir Keir Starmer fixes his sights on ending small boat crossings.

The Prime Minister is expected to use a speech to the Interpol General Assembly in Glasgow on Monday to kick off a week-long blitz on the issue that will see him travel to Hungary for talks on tackling people smuggling.

Monday’s speech will see Sir Keir pledge another £75 million for his new border command, taking its total funding to £150 million over two years.

The money will be used to fund high-tech surveillance equipment and 100 specialist investigators who will target criminals engaged in people smuggling.

The Prime Minister is expected to say: “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.”

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 is also expected to say: “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.”

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.

Writing in the Daily Express, Sir Keir said: “The criminals work across borders – we must too. We must break up their networks and deepen our cooperation with other governments and law enforcement agencies.

“It’s time to treat these vile gangs like the criminals they are and go after them with every means at our disposal.”

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.”

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.

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.”