PM announces extra £75m to tackle people smugglers

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is to announce an extra £75m to tackle people-smuggling gangs.

The Interpol general assembly is being held in the UK for the first time in more than 50 years as Sir Keir seeks to reset the country's approach to border security.

The cash boost takes funding for the UK's new Border Security Command (BSC) to a total of £150m for new tech hubs, and expanding staffing for enforcement, intelligence and prosecution staff.

Sir Keir is expected to warn the Glasgow summit, which brings together senior police and ministers from nearly 200 Interpol member countries, that "the world needs to wake up to the severity of this challenge".

Sir Keir will set out how he plans to draw on his experience as Director of Public Prosecutions, bringing together agencies to tackle international terrorist and drug-smuggling gangs.

He will say: "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.

“There’s nothing progressive about turning a blind eye as men, women and children die in the Channel.

“This is a vile trade that must be stamped out – wherever it thrives."

The PM wants to apply a counter-terrorism approach to border security and end "fragmentation" between policing, Border Force and intelligence agencies.

The BSC, led by Martin Hewitt, will be provided with enhanced powers through a new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill – to make it easier to detect, disrupt and deter those involved in organised immigration crime.

The BSC will also coordinate the work of intelligence agencies and law enforcement with European counterparts and will be getting extra funds for:

• An extra 300 BSC staff to strengthen global partnerships and deliver new legislation
• An extra 100 specialist investigators and intelligence officers for the National Crime Agency (NCA), to tackle criminals involved in people smuggling.
• New NCA technology around advanced data exploitation, to boost collaboration with European partners investigating trafficking networks
• Creating a new specialist intelligence unit examining information from key police forces.
• Boosting the Crown Prosecution Service’s ability to deliver charging decisions more quickly on international organised crime cases.

Sir Keir will also announce that the UK government has increased its support for Interpol's global operations with an extra £6m this year to tackle serious organised crime affecting the UK through drug crime.

The Home Office will also invest £24m in the new financial year to tackle international organised crime affecting the UK including drugs and firearms, fraud, trafficking and exploitation.

Funds will in part be used to bolster work done by special prosecutors and operational partners in the Western Balkans.

There were 5,448 deaths related to drug poisoning registered in 2023, marking an 11% rise on a year earlier, and the highest level since records began in 1993.

NCA director General Graeme Biggar said there are currently 70 investigations into the gangs or individuals.

“Serious and organised crime causes more harm, to more people, more often than any other national security threat," he said.

"Distance, borders and languages are meaningless to criminals. This is why collaborations with Interpol have never been as important as they are today."

The Conservatives have been contacted for comment.