Glasgow, November 3, 2024 – The Europe Today: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce a significant £75 million funding boost to intensify efforts against people-smuggling gangs, taking the UK’s total investment in its newly-formed Border Security Command (BSC) to £150 million. The announcement will take place at the Interpol general assembly in Glasgow, which is being held in the UK for the first time in over 50 years and brings together senior police officials and ministers from nearly 200 countries.
Sir Keir’s plan seeks to overhaul the UK’s border security framework, leveraging his past experience as Director of Public Prosecutions. He will outline a new strategy focusing on collaboration between intelligence, enforcement, and legal bodies to counteract international smuggling and trafficking networks.
Addressing the summit, Sir Keir is expected to urge global leaders to recognize the severity of people-smuggling as a humanitarian crisis, stating: “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 BSC, led by Martin Hewitt, will operate under expanded powers through the new Border Security, Asylum, and Immigration Bill, empowering it to better detect and disrupt organized immigration crime. The funding will provide for an additional 300 BSC staff, strengthen global partnerships, and add 100 specialist investigators to the National Crime Agency (NCA) to target human smuggling operations. Enhanced technological resources will enable more effective data analysis and intelligence-sharing with European agencies, while a newly established intelligence unit will work with key police forces to streamline information on trafficking networks.
The Crown Prosecution Service will also benefit from increased resources to expedite decisions in cases related to international crime. Sir Keir further announced an additional £6 million contribution to Interpol’s global operations, focusing on tackling organized crime such as drug trafficking, and pledged £24 million for the next fiscal year to address international crime impacting the UK, including drugs, firearms, fraud, and human exploitation.
Graeme Biggar, Director General of the NCA, emphasized the urgency of cross-border collaboration, stating, “Serious and organised crime causes more harm, to more people, more often than any other national security threat. Distance, borders, and languages are meaningless to criminals. This is why collaborations with Interpol have never been as important as they are today.”
The new funding and policy changes aim to counteract the sharp rise in organised crime, with the NCA currently investigating 70 active cases involving smuggling rings. The Home Office’s expanded budget for tackling transnational crime also underscores the government’s commitment to strengthening security across UK borders.
The Conservatives have been approached for their response to the Prime Minister’s announcement.
