Home secretary to chair summit on smuggling gangs following deaths in Channel

5 September 2024, 21:32 | Updated: 6 September 2024, 11:17

The home secretary will meet with ministers and members of law enforcement on Friday for an operational summit that will set out the government's plan to tackle small boats in the Channel.

Yvette Cooper will be joined by at the headquarters of the National Crime Agency (NCA) in London by Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Attorney General Lord Hermer, as well as representatives from the NCA, Border Force and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

"Smashing the gangs" was one of Sir Keir Starmer's key pledges to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel after his party pledged to scrap the Conservatives' Rwanda scheme to send those arriving illegally into the UK to the African nation.

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Shortly after taking office, Labour announced it would divert tens of millions of pounds from the Rwanda scheme to set up a new Border Security Command (BSC) in a bid to tackle illegal migration.

The party is also pressing ahead with the previous government's plan to reopen two immigration centres in a bid to stop small boat crossings.

The summit on Friday comes following the deaths of at least 12 people in the Channel this week, including 10 women and girls.

The director of the NCA General Graeme Biggar is expected to highlight work his organisation has carried out in Bulgaria, saying establishing a base in the country and working with their authorities had led to more than 40 small boats and engines being intercepted in recent weeks - which, in turn, could have enabled up to 2,400 people to attempt a Channel crossing.

Part of the government's strategy will be to look at how smugglers operate and how the government can better collaborate with Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency.

Ms Cooper said: "Exploiting vulnerable people is at the heart of the business model of these despicable criminal smuggling gangs. Women and children were packed into an unsafe boat which literally collapsed in the water this week. At least 12 people were killed as part of this evil trade. We will not rest until these networks have been dismantled and brought to justice.  

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"The last two months has seen encouraging progress, with significant seizures of boats and equipment in Europe. But there is work to do, and the Border Security Command will bring all the relevant bodies together to investigate, arrest and prosecute these networks, as well as deepen our ties with key international partners. 

"At the same time, we are swiftly removing those with no right to be in the UK, which will ensure we have a fair, firm and functioning asylum system where the rules are respected and enforced."  

(c) Sky News 2024: Home secretary to chair summit on smuggling gangs following deaths in Channel