Keir Starmer wants more joint operations with Germany to tackle smuggling gangs (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer wants more joint British-German operations to stop migrant boats reaching northern France.
The Prime Minister said a new pact between London and Berlin could bolster data and intelligence sharing and intensify joint operations.
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The proposal comes as the number of migrants crossing the Channel this year is expected to soar past 20,000 today.
Germany is a key transit country for smugglers bringing dinghies and engines to the French coast, with networks known to use warehouses for their equipment.
Thousands of migrants also pass through the country, with organised crime gangs using safehouses near Bonn, Cologne, Frankfurt, Essen, Dusseldorf, Bochum and Dortmund.
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More illegal migrants arrived in the UK today (Image: Getty)
More than 500 migrants arrived in the UK on Tuesday, taking the provisional total to 19,820 - 0.1% higher than at the same point in 2023 (19,801) and 21% lower than 2022 (25,065).
But hundreds more are expected to arrive today, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claiming as many as 11 boats could be intercepted.
More than three would almost certainly guarantee the milestone of 20,000 being hit.
Sir Keir said: "On the wider question of irregular migration and the particular issue that we have in the UK of small boats crossing the Channel, I have long said before the election that I thought the Rwanda scheme was a gimmick, which is why we stood it down immediately.
"But nonetheless, it is very important we take back control of our borders. I have long been convinced that the best way, the most effective way to do that is to take down the gangs that are running the vile trade of putting people in dangerous situations across Europe and across the Channel."
The Prime Minister said his "substantive discussions" with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and proposals for a joint agreement on immigration would help the pair "deal with issues like data sharing, intelligence sharing, what we can do on joint operations, because that is the way to take effective action in relation to the vile trade that sits beneath irregular migration across Europe and in particular sits beneath the vile trade of putting people into small boats across the Channel".
Mr Scholz had previously said, according to a translation: "The state has to contain irregular immigration so as to not overburden the country. This can and must succeed without questioning our basic law and also international treaties."
Charities working in France have identified vehicles with Belgian, German and Dutch number plates at a notorious migrant camp near Dunkirk.
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Researchers from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime said: “The smugglers will rent a property in these towns and fill it with migrants or use an intermediary who can provide a property.
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“Some migrants, however, choose to stay closer to the coastal areas, often in hotels that are known for accommodating almost exclusively migrants, refugees and low-level smugglers during the Summer months, when weather conditions are more amenable for the crossing.
“These hotels are among the cheaper options on offer and in some cases reportedly provide additional services, such as shipping migrants’ luggage to the UK upon arrival.
“They also act as recruitment hubs for smugglers and some hotels reportedly offer discounts on accommodation for smugglers’ clients.”