Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will lead a summit of ministers and security bigwigs aimed at countering people-smuggling gangs fuelling the migrant crisis today.
Later on Friday, Cooper is set to chair the meeting at National Crime Agency (NCA) headquarters in London – with 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) all gathering to draw up plans to smash the gangs.
The Home Office has revealed that MI5 has been tasked with a key role in stymying the crisis – but the Home Secretary has her eyes on the continent, following up on Labour’s push for a so-called “relations reset” with Europe and the EU.
Cooper has commissioned an analysis on the gangs, which will be examined at length at the talks today, and includes a drive for closer ties with European agencies like Europol.
Despite more than 20,000 migrants having arrived on Britain’s shores in 2024 alone, the Home Secretary has hailed what she called “encouraging progress” on the crisis since Labour came to power.
Latest figures have put the number of small boat arrivals this year at a provisional total of 21,977, 3 per cent higher than at this point last year.
The Home Secretary said: “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.”
But the mood in Europe, particularly in France, could present a challenge to the Home Office’s schemes.
Just days ago, French interior minister Gerald Darmanin called for a new treaty between Britain and the EU – all 27 member states of which are designated “safe” nations – which could see asylum seekers in the bloc resettled in the UK.
He said: “The solution is… to do a treaty that allows the UK and the EU, not just France and the UK, to create a causal link between asylum requests and the granting of asylum in the UK.
Though Darmanin noted the fault lay at the feet of “criminal smugglers”, he appeared to blame Britain’s lax approach to deporting illegal migrants for incentivising Channel crossings.
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‘People didn’t vote for things to get worse’: Green Party conference kicks off as co-leaders blast Labour’s message
The Greens are set to call on Sir Keir Starmer to offer a more hopeful message to the public
PA
The Green Party has said it will aim to counter “Labour’s message of doom and gloom” as it begins its party conference today, marking the start of “conference season” in Britain.
The Greens, which boast four MPs, will be descending on Manchester this year to call for more spending, more tax, and a more European approach to public services and environmentalism.
Party co-leader and Bristol Central MP Carla Denyer said: “As Greens, we counter Labour’s message of doom and gloom.
“Things can get better – and fast – but only if the new Government has the courage to invest.”
Denyer said she and her party would push the Government to be “braver and bolder”, including on the Budget.
She continued: “The Budget at the end of October will set the course for the rest of this Parliament.
“Green MPs do not accept the need for public spending cuts. On July 4 people didn’t vote for things to get worse. They voted for change, and that’s what we are offering as Green MPs.”
Fellow co-leader Adrian Ramsay said: “We need to invest in defending public services and protecting our environment – and we can do so with some changes to the tax system to ask the wealthiest in society to pay a little more.
“These tax changes are modest by the standards of many other European countries who recognise that having high quality public services and a greener economy needs investment.”
The Greens have their eyes on a wealth tax on billionaires and multi-millionaires, reforms of capital gains tax and inheritance tax, and a swathe of spending hikes on health, social care and a nationwide home insulation drive.
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