Today, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a substantial £75 million funding boost to the UK’s Border Security Command, bringing the total investment over the next two years to £150 million.
Speaking at the INTERPOL General Assembly in Glasgow, the Prime Minister outlined the government’s intensified approach to counter the threat of people smuggling, labelling it a national security priority.
This funding will support state-of-the-art technology, expanded information centres, and enhanced enforcement measures to disrupt the operations of smuggling gangs. The Border Security Command, led by Martin Hewitt CBE QPM, will see the addition of 300 personnel and 100 specialist investigators, with resources directed towards breaking down organised immigration crime both within the UK and abroad.
In his address, the Prime Minister emphasised the urgent need for a coordinated response: “This is a vile trade that must be stamped out – wherever it thrives. We’re applying our counter-terrorism approach to the gangs, with our new Border Security Command.” Starmer pointed to the new command’s role in integrating UK agencies to better secure the borders and dismantle criminal smuggling operations.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper echoed the commitment, saying: “Criminal smuggler gangs profit from undermining our border security and putting lives at risk. This step change in the way we target these gangs comes at a critical moment.” She highlighted increased collaboration with European partners, the G7, and Europol as essential to ensuring these criminal networks face sustained pressure across borders.
The funding will also expand the capabilities of the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), improving technological resources, intelligence flow, and swift prosecution of organised crime cases.
According to NCA Director General Graeme Biggar, “Serious and organised crime remains a top priority for the NCA. We are determined to disrupt and dismantle these networks, wherever they operate.”
The announcement follows the UK’s recent commitment to the G7 anti-migrant smuggling action plan, which focuses on countering smuggling networks, removing harmful online content promoting illegal migration, and strengthening global monitoring of migration trends.
Anyone else struggling to access the site today?
First time I’ve been able to get on to read.
On this money for Border Command, I think it will make no difference whatsoever as there is no deterrent to migrants attempting to cross in the first place.
And if they do succeed, they know they will not be deported.
How to deport someone if that person has no papers and no identity?
Where to?
And when will HMG deal with the endless legal challenges to attempted removals?
They won’t, especially Labour, especially Starmer, with his background.
So this equals the square root of very little, and grandstanding by the PM and the HS that we are doing something “new” like Border Command, which simply co-ordinates the same assets re packaged under a new name, with some extra people recruited.
Yes maybe an attack on the site.
It seems unlikely that our EU friends are going to be too keen on preventing migrants from leaving their shores as they would then need to look after them. No joined up thinking going on. That is worrying in itself.
Yes, it is very slow.
Agreed 👍
It is a very profitable business model.
As we don’t use ID cards and there is no necessity of proving ID for most of life in the UK they just melt into the population.
I’d rather we legalised the cream of the crop and got aggressive with the dregs TBH. Rather than pretending something that won’t work can be done.
Why are hand car washes everywhere – you have to be brain dead to not see the connection. There is a whole segment of construction that is off books again after just about getting most of it on books by 2016.
I’m moderately pro economically useful levels of immigration [skilled] but this is pure send in the clowns stuff now.
The hand car washes have pretty much vanished from around here, certainly the ones in Tesco and Sainsbury’s car parks both disappeared a while back.
Im going to play devils advocate here and say that i suspect we will never see most of the successes that this money makes possible.
Whos to say that the numbers we see arriving now aren’t a tiny amount of the crossings attempted and disrupted or nipped in the bud before they even started?
There are several likely candidates for a possible DOS attack on a notable UK defence news and commentary website (Orcs and ChiComs, and the rest of the usual suspects, immediately trigger suspicion).
After UK departure from EU legal structure, is there a possibility of declaring the UK equivalent of marshall law in the territorial waters of the UK? Smugglers prosecuted in military tribunals, w/ summary execution by firing squad for those convicted of causing migrant deaths? Would prove a significant incentive for smugglers to choose alternative employment.
Intercept every dinghy, accommodate every illegal in a remotely located, guarded and wired off tent camp run by the Army. Voluntary remigration (with a modest amount of pocket money) the only way to leave. After a month, the crossings will stop. But this can only happen when you have repopulated your institutions, who seem hell bent on ruining your country. Greetings from Denmark.
An utter waste of money, until they remove the pull factors that encourage illegal migration, such as priority access to social housing and non contributory benefits, they will never stop the flow of migrants
Let’s be honest they could stop it overnight if they wanted to , they don’t want to stop it
Spot on
Second that 👍
By “they” do you mean the current Labour government or the previous conservative one? Or both ? Or some other third agent?
Both!
A total waste of money!!
Agreed, this is all for show.
In 2028 maybe Trump will be looking for work.
They don’t come for benefits.
I know several people who work to settle them in, benefits are very important to many of them, while others want to knuckle down and make a living; benefits are a pull factor.
This will be as successful as upstream disruption was in smashing drugs gangs i.e. not in the slightest because the demand is still there and greater than ever in truth. Everyone seems convinced these migrants are desperate to the point of suicidal so smash one gang and another will take its place to meet demand. The Reverend Starmer knows this all too well but hey lets not let the truth get in the way of a good distraction policy.
I feel the site had a DOS attack.
As to the money, middle management had a faint moment when I suggested that Hereford and Poole should understand if people smuggling leadership were involved in either or both weapons and guns and just slot them.
Brought up Loughgall and the Rock; suddenly the IRA were a tad less brazen and began thinking twice about going toe to toe with British Forces.
No one likes death. Extreme? 100%
Sending people to their deaths in dinghies on the Ebglish Channel, 100% Slot them. Save a lot of deaths and money in the long term.
That is that problem fixed then, make new Boarder Command, chuck money at it but do nothing else. Fantasy politics with no clue. To work there has to be a deterrence and there is none. If get here after a lift from the RNLI or Boarder force you have 60% of being allowed to stay and less then 2% of being deported.
The Government should charge a substantial landing fee to the useless order force and RNLI for each one they land in Britain. Enough of complicity and freebies.
I think we are being pretty stupid making the UK such an easy touch for these uninvited guests into the country. Bring in ID cards and charge for food and accommodation and from day one and maybe few will bother. Marriage is another scam they employ.
It strikes me, the BBC have had more success in investigating and tracking down people smugglers than either Border Force or UK law enforcement. The only way to address the problem is by rebuilding co-operation that was thrown away by Brexit with our European neighbours.