Britain will double the £75 million ($97 million) it has earmarked to tackle criminal people smuggling gangs, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Downing Street office said on Monday.
The additional funding will provide £150 million over two years for Starmer’s new Border Security Command, part of his policy to bring down the number of undocumented migrants arriving in Britain by small boats.
The announcement comes as Starmer’s new Labour government — like its Conservative predecessor — struggles to drive down numbers despite his pre-election pledge to “smash” the criminal gangs behind them.
In a speech to the Interpol general assembly in Glasgow later on Monday, Starmer is expected to say the “world needs to wake up to the severity of this challenge”.
Undocumented migration, particularly of people crossing the Channel from northern France, was a major issue at the polls in July when Starmer’s Labour party was elected.
One of Starmer’s first moves as prime minister was to abolish the last Conservative government’s controversial plan to deport 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 (English) Channel.”
