Starmer doubles funding to tackle people-smuggling networks

KEIR Starmer’s office announced on Monday an increase in funding to target criminal people-smuggling networks, doubling the current allocation from £75 million to £150 million over the next two years.

This funding boost is part of Starmer's plan to reduce the number of undocumented migrants reaching Britain by small boats, supporting the establishment of his new Border Security Command.

The announcement comes as Starmer’s Labour government faces ongoing challenges in reducing migrant numbers, a key campaign promise made before the election to "smash" the operations of people-smuggling gangs.

Later on Monday, in a speech to the Interpol General Assembly in Glasgow, Starmer is expected to urge a global response, saying, “the world needs to wake up to the severity of this challenge.”

Undocumented migration, particularly crossings from northern France, became a central issue in July’s elections, which brought Starmer’s Labour Party to power. As prime minister, one of Starmer's early actions was to cancel the former Conservative government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

“I was elected to deliver security for the British people. And strong borders are a part of that. But security doesn’t stop at our borders,” he will say. “There’s nothing progressive about turning a blind eye as men, women and children die in the Channel.”

The Labour government also plans to introduce legislation to grant enhanced powers to border security forces, likely drawing on counter-terrorism methods to address people-smuggling networks.

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

According to recent provisional statistics, nearly 32,000 undocumented migrants have reached Britain via small boats this year, with at least 60 lives lost during the crossings.

Starmer is also set to attend the European Political Community summit in Hungary later this week, where migration and people-smuggling are expected to be on the agenda.

(With inputs from AFP)