Criminal gangs profiting from dangerous small boat crossings will face a new crackdown following a £100 million investment from the Home Office into border security.
The cash will pay for up to 300 extra National Crime Agency officers (NCA), state-of-the art detection technology and new equipment to help tackle the gangs behind the small boats trade.
The funding will be used to support the new pilot of the “one in, one out” returns agreement agreed last month which will see migrants who arrive illegally on small boats returned to France in exchange for asylum seekers with links to Britain.
There will be more overtime for immigration compliance and enforcement teams as well as funding for interventions in transit countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia to target organised immigration crime, disrupt human trafficking and the supply of dangerous small boat equipment.
The Government is seeking to deter smuggling gangs in a bid to bring down small boat crossings, which have topped 25,000 for the year so far – a record for this point in the year.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Labour had set the foundations for a “new and much stronger law enforcement approach” over the last year.
She said: “Now this additional funding will strengthen every aspect of our plan and will turbo-charge the ability of our law enforcement agencies to track the gangs and bring them down, working with our partners overseas, and using state-of-the-art technology and equipment.
“Alongside our new agreements with France, this will help us drive forward our plan for change commitments to protect the UK’s border security and restore order to our immigration system.”
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The Home Office has given a £100million funding boost in a new drive to crack down on small boat crossings
The NCA has 91 ongoing investigations into people-smuggling networks affecting Britain, the agency’s director general of operations Rob Jones said.
In the 2024/25 financial year, the NCA said it achieved 345 disruptions of organised immigration crime networks and activity – its highest level on record and a 40 per cent increase on the previous financial year.
“This additional funding will help boost our capacity and capability, enabling us to target more offenders,” Jones explained.
The Conservatives have however criticised the funding announcement as a “desperate grab for headlines which will make no real difference”.
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Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed a ‘one in, one out’ migrant returns deal last month
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “Labour has failed and their laughable claim to smash the gangs lies in tatters.
“They have no serious plan, just excuses, while ruthless criminal gangs flood our borders with illegal immigrants.
“The British public deserves real action, not empty slogans and tinkering at the edges.
“The Conservative Deportation Bill is the only real solution. Immediate detention, rapid removal and shutting down these illegal networks for good.”
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More than 25,000 migrants have arrived in Britain after crossing the Channel so far this yea
It comes after the Home Office revealed anyone who advertises small boat crossings or fake passports on social media could face up to five years in prison under a proposed law change.
Ministers are seeking to create a new offence under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill already going through Parliament in a bid to crackdown on criminal gangs promoting journeys like Channel crossings online.
The proposed measure will also make it a crime to post content online that encourages someone to break UK immigration law in exchange for financial incentives and outlaw the promise of illegal working being promoted online.
Around 80 per cent of migrants arriving to Britain by small boat have told officials they used social media during their journey, including to contact agents linked to people smuggling gangs, according to the Home Office.
