Border Security Command funding to double to £150m to ‘crush gangs’ | Politics news

A further £75m will go towards “busting gangs” as the government strengthens its new border security unit.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce additional funding as he hosts Interpol’s general assembly in Glasgow from today for the first time in more than 50 years.

The announcement, which kicks off Sir Keir’s week-long campaign against people smuggling, will increase total funding over the next two years to £150 million for the Border Security Command (BSC), created by the Labor government to “crush the gangs”. – a new slogan introduced during the election campaign.

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Labour’s initial £75 million commitment to the BSC came from abandonment of the former Conservative government’s scheme in Rwandawhere illegal immigrants and asylum seekers would be sent to Rwanda for processing, asylum and resettlement.

The new £75 million will go towards developing National Crime Agency (NCA) technology so agents can use data and “increase collaboration” with other European countries to “investigate and disrupt people smuggling networks”.

It will also fund 300 Border Force Command staff and 100 specialist NCA investigators and intelligence officers to target criminals involved in people smuggling.

The Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) ability to resolve charges in international organized crime cases more quickly will also be funded.

Sir Keir is expected to tell senior ministers and police chiefs from Interpol’s 196 member states: “The world needs to wake up to the seriousness of this problem.

“I was elected to ensure the safety of the British people. And strong boundaries are part of that. But security is not limited to our borders.

“There is nothing progressive about turning a blind eye to the deaths of men, women and children in the English Channel.

“This is a vile trade that must be eradicated wherever it thrives. So we’re taking our counter-terrorism approach – which we know works – and applying it to gangs with the help of our new Border Security Command.”

“We are ending the fragmentation between the police, border agencies and our intelligence agencies.”

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The Government announced in the King’s Speech it would introduce a Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill as it tries to tackle the problem of illegal immigrants arriving in the UK, particularly on small boats.

This will be the fourth immigration bill since 2022 as both the former Conservative government and the current Labor government try to tackle the issue.

The number of small boat crossings reached this year’s high in October.More than 5,000 people crossed the border.

In the first two days of November, 433 people arrived in the UK on small boats.

A total of 31,904 people traveled this year, up 16.5% from the same point in 2023 (26,699), but still down 22.1% from the same point in 2022 year (39,929).

Later this week, Sir Keir is expected to attend the European Political Community summit in Hungary, where migration and people smuggling are expected to be discussed.

The Prime Minister will also announce a £6 million increase in UK support for Interpol to tackle global organized crime and a £24 million increase to tackle serious international crime affecting the UK, particularly in the Western Balkans.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Keir Starmer’s pledge to tackle gangs will mean absolutely nothing if there is no deterrent to stop migrants making the dangerous journey across the English Channel.

“It’s a shame that Starmer didn’t recognize the scale of the Channel crisis sooner, as he and the Labor Party voted down numerous measures to stop gangs while they were in opposition.

“If Starmer continues to ignore the need to curb migrants crossing the English Channel, there will be more deaths in the English Channel as more and more migrants continue to cross. He needs to get the Channel crisis under control.”