Nigel Farage has taken aim at Labour's plans to smash people-smuggling gangs (Image: Getty)
Labour's ￡100 million funding boost to combat people smuggling gangs will not stop small boat crossings, opposition parties have warned. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage branded record illegal migration levels a “national security crisis”, while the Tories suggested Labour's latest “gimmick” will not make a significant difference.
The Home Office has announced additional funding to support a pilot scheme of a new “one in, one out” returns agreement with France. Writing in the Daily Express, Mr Farage said: “This is not the first time we have seen a Labour or Conservative government throw taxpayer money at the illegal immigration crisis and hope it will go away.
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“After all, we have sent over ￡800 million to France since this all began, for very little in return. Keir Starmer told us he would smash the gangs — first in opposition, and then continued since entering No 10. In reality, all he has smashed are records on illegal immigration instead. In fact, crossings are up 50% on this time last year.
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“Another ￡100 million here or there won’t move the needle. It won’t stop the boats or the gangs.”
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Labour is urgently seeking to deter smuggling gangs in a bid to stop small boat crossings after the number of illegal migrants to cross the Channel topped 25,000 last week - marking a record for this point in the year.
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The cash will pay for up to 300 more National Crime Agency (NCA) officers and new technology and equipment to step up intelligence-gathering on smuggling gangs.
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.
Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, said: “There is only one thing that will stop these crossings - we must deport them all immediately upon arrival. There was a plan ready to go to do this but Labour cancelled it before it started. - we should bring back the Rwanda deterrent.
“Labour’s latest gimmick is a desperate grab for headlines which will make no real difference.
“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.
“This weak Labour government has lost control of our borders and we now see rapes and sexual assaults by illegal immigrants reported on a near daily basis.”
The Home Office also announced that anyone who advertises small boat crossings or fake passports on social media could face up to five years in prison under a new offence to be introduced under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
While Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, plans to introduce a fast-track scheme to tackle the asylum backlog that aims to turn around decisions within weeks instead of years to reduce accommodation costs.
Labour pledged at the general election to "smash" people-smuggling gangs and reduce Channel crossing numbers.
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New measures have been introduced since, including increased intelligence sharing with other countries and strengthened border cooperation with France, including the plan to return some migrants.
The agreement will allow the UK to return selected numbers of small boat arrivals to France. In exchange, the UK will admit an equal number of asylum seekers with legitimate ties to the UK (such as family), who have not previously attempted to enter the country illegally.
Ms Cooper said: "For six years, the small boat smuggling gangs were allowed to embed their criminal trade along our coast, and have shown a ruthless ability to adapt their tactics and maximise their profits, no matter how many lives they put at risk. They must not be allowed to get away with this vile crime.
“That is why this government has developed a serious and comprehensive plan to dismantle their business model, from disrupting their supply chains across the European continent to clamping down on their illegal working operations here in the UK.
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“In the last twelve months, we have set the foundations for this new and much stronger law enforcement approach – establishing the new Border Security Command, strengthening the National Crime Agency and UK police operations, increasing Immigration Enforcement, introducing new counter terror style powers in our Border Security Bill, and establishing cooperation agreements with Europol and other countries.
"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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