Tag: 2025

The press release issued by the Home Office on 4 August 2025.

The treaty provides a legal basis for the groundbreaking UK-France ‘one-in, one-out’ pilot scheme.

The latest step towards dismantling the criminal trade in small boat crossings was taken today by the ratification of a treaty between the UK and France to help prevent dangerous journeys at sea.

The agreement means that anyone entering the UK on a small boat can be detained immediately on arrival and returned to France by the UK government – with detentions expected to begin within days. Under the ‘one-in, one-out’ scheme, an equal number of migrants will be eligible to come to the UK through a new route if they have not attempted an illegal crossing before – subject to full documentation and security and eligibility checks.

Today’s ratification follows Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of the landmark pilot scheme just under 4 weeks ago. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau signed the final text last week. The EU Commission, Germany and other partners have given the green light on this innovative approach to deter illegal migration and prevent criminal smuggling networks operating across Europe.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

This government has been fixing the foundations of the broken asylum system we inherited and today we send a clear message – if you come here illegally on a small boat you will face being sent back to France.

This is the product of months of grown-up diplomacy delivering real results for British people as we broker deals no government has been able to achieve and strike at the heart of these vile gangs’ business model.

The days of gimmicks and broken promises are over – we will restore order to our borders with the seriousness and competence the British people deserve.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

For the first time, under this groundbreaking new treaty, people who undertake illegal, dangerous journeys to the UK – putting lives at risk and fuelling organised crime – can be returned to France. In return, we will take people who apply legally with appropriate documentation to be transferred to the UK, subject to clear eligibility criteria and stringent security checks.

This is an important step towards undermining the business model of the organised crime gangs that are behind these crossings – undermining their claims that those who travel to the UK illegally can’t be returned to France. Now, as part of our Plan for Change, they can be.

It is also right to make clear that – while the UK will always be ready to play its part alongside other countries in helping those fleeing persecution and conflict – this must be done in a controlled and managed legal way, not through dangerous, illegal and uncontrolled routes.

We will develop the pilot step by step and will trial different approaches as part of it, and alongside this scheme, we will continue to take action at every level to dismantle the criminal enterprise behind this vile trade, boosted by the £100 million in new investment announced this week to support increased enforcement against the gangs.

Under the new UK-France returns treaty, any adult migrant who crosses the Channel will now be at risk of return under the pilot scheme if their claim for asylum is considered inadmissible. Immigration Enforcement have set aside space at Immigration Removal Centres, while Border Force have an operational strategy ready to identify and process groups of inadmissible migrants for removal.

Learning the lessons from the lengthy legal challenges affecting the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda, the UK government is also prepared to robustly defend any legal challenges to removal within the initial trial phase, as we look to ramp up both the pace and scale of returns over the course of the pilot scheme.

The treaty governing the pilot scheme will remain in force until June 2026, and over this period both countries have committed to continually review and improve the process and effectiveness of this innovative approach, pending decisions on the long-term future of the arrangements after June 2026.

Returns to other countries and immigration enforcement work will continue alongside the treaty. In its first year in office, this government returned more than 35,000 people with no right to be in the UK – a 28% increase in returns of failed asylum seekers and a 13% increase in overall returns compared to the previous year. The government also ramped up activity against illegal working, with over 9,000 raids since July 2024, resulting in 6,410 arrests – up 48% and 51% on the previous year.

The French authorities are also increasing their enforcement activity to prevent small boat crossings, disrupt supplies of equipment to the French coast and arrest members of the criminal groups behind the trade.

A new ‘Compagnie de Marche’ of specialist enforcement officers, supported by increased local policing, has been put in place; a specialist intelligence and judicial police unit has been established in Dunkirk to speed up the arrest and prosecution of people-smugglers; and a review of the French maritime approach has been undertaken to allow greater interception of boats in shallow waters.

For migrants in France wanting to come to the UK legally, they will be able to submit an Expression of Interest application for the new legal route online and the Home Office will make a decision. They will need to satisfactorily establish their identity and nationality and will be subject to strict security and eligibility checks.

Anyone who arrives by small boat and is returned to France will not be eligible for the legal route to the UK, while anyone who tries to re-enter the UK having already been returned to France once will be returned again as a matter of priority.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 3 August 2025.

Criminal networks smuggling migrants on dangerous small boats to be targeted with £100m funding boost.

Dangerous criminal gangs profiting from deadly small boats crossings will face a major new crackdown following a £100 million investment in border security.

The funding will pay for up to 300 extra National Crime Agency officers (NCA), state-of-the art detection technology and new equipment to smash the networks putting lives at risk in the Channel.

The investment will see the Border Security Command, the NCA, the police and other law enforcement agency partners receive a significant cash injection to strengthen investigations targeting smuggling kingpins and disrupt their operations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and beyond.

The package of up to £100 million will boost existing law enforcement operations and allow more intelligence to be gathered on organised immigration crime gang members, support upstream capacity building, purchase sophisticated technology and equipment to strengthen UK border security and disrupt the people-smuggling gangs.

The investment will build on the recent successes under existing funding, including the arrest and prosecution of major smuggling gang kingpins, the seizure of over 600 small boats and engines, and the disruption of a further 351 criminal gangs through the work of the NCA.

It comes as the NCA announced their biggest people-smuggling raid and seizure of boat engines in Bulgaria last week – showing the impact increased international law enforcement operations can have.

The comprehensive funding package will include:

• Funding to support the new pilot of the ‘one-in, one-out’ returns agreement between the UK and France, which for the first time will see migrants who arrive illegally on small boats returned to France.
• An uplift in NCA staff of up to 300 personnel focused on intelligence targeting crime gang members.
• New state-of-the-art technology and equipment for the detection and disruption of organised immigration crime, including hi-tech surveillance capabilities, and AI-assisted intelligence and data analysis tools.
• Funding to support the implementation of extended police powers to seize and download digital devices to gather evidence and intelligence, announced under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
• Funding for the recently-established Organised Immigration Crime Domestic Taskforce, which is driving law enforcement operations targeting the elements of organised immigration crime activity operating out of the UK, from the facilitation of boat crossings to the running of modern slavery networks.
• Funding to intensify illegal working enforcement by increasing overtime for ICE teams, enabling more premium-time deployments, funding redeployment of officers to high-risk regions, boosting intelligence generation, and supporting sanctions teams to target non-compliant employers—delivering rapid operational uplift without requiring new permanent staff.
• And funding to support a series of interventions upstream as well as intensified efforts in transit countries across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia to target organised immigration crime, disrupt human trafficking and the supply of dangerous small boat equipment, while also continuing to correct the lies peddled by criminal gangs to would-be migrants.

The investment will also support the new powers that will be introduced when the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill becomes law, which will include the introduction of a UK-wide offence to criminalise the creation and publication of online material that promotes a breach of immigration law, such as the advertisement of small boat crossings on social media.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

For six years, the small boat smuggling gangs were allowed to embed their criminal trade along our coast, and have shown a ruthless ability to adapt their tactics and maximise their profits, no matter how many lives they put at risk. They must not be allowed to get away with this vile crime.

That is why this government has developed a serious and comprehensive plan to dismantle their business model, from disrupting their supply chains across the European continent to clamping down on their illegal working operations here in the UK.

In the last twelve months, we have set the foundations for this new and much stronger law enforcement approach – establishing the new Border Security Command, strengthening the National Crime Agency and UK police operations, increasing Immigration Enforcement, introducing new counter terror style powers in our Border Security Bill, and establishing cooperation agreements with Europol and other countries.

Now this additional funding will strengthen every aspect of our plan, and will turbo-charge the ability of our law enforcement agencies to track the gangs and bring them down, working with our partners overseas, and using state-of-the-art technology and equipment. Alongside our new agreements with France, this will help us drive forward our Plan for Change commitments to protect the UK’s border security and restore order to our immigration system.

National Crime Agency Director General of Operations Rob Jones said:

The NCA focuses on making the biggest impact on organised crime groups behind these lethal crossings.

We currently have 91 investigations ongoing into the most dangerous people smuggling networks impacting the UK, and are working with partners at home and abroad to target, disrupt and dismantle them.

This additional funding will help boost our capacity and capability, enabling us to target more offenders.

The NCA has reported that, in the 2024/25 financial year, it achieved 351 NCA-led disruptions of organised immigration crime networks and activity – its highest level on record – and a 40 percent increase on the previous financial year. That included 56 high-impact NCA-led disruptions, which meant that those particular investigations led to the prosecution and disruption of those directly responsible for committing the crimes, and resulted in a significant and/or long term impact on the capability of the organised crime group involved.

These new measures fall within government’s Plan for Change. The government is restoring order to the immigration system, including the introduction of new legislation under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, tougher enforcement powers, ramping up returns to their highest levels for more than half a decade and a major crackdown on illegal working to end the false promise of jobs used by gangs to sell spaces on boats.

It builds on the work this government has already undertaken to restore order to the immigration system, surging enforcement action against illegal migration, with a 50% increase in arrests of those caught working illegally, returning 35,000 people with no right to be in the UK, and imposing tougher sanctions against gang ring leaders, key intermediaries and suppliers of people-smuggling equipment.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 2 August 2025.

New offence to target criminal gangs promoting dangerous journeys like Channel crossings to the UK on social media.

In a blow to the people smugglers’ business model, the government has outlined new measures through its Plan for Change to crack down on social media content which promotes small boat crossings and fuels organised immigration crime.

Under a new amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill currently going through Parliament, a new, UK-wide offence will be introduced to criminalise the creation of material for publication online, which promotes or offers services facilitating a breach of UK immigration law. This could include small boat crossings, the creation of fake travel documents like passports or visas, or explicitly promising illegal working opportunities in the UK.

While facilitating illegal migration is already a crime, the proposed changes would add another string to law enforcement’s bow, better enabling them to disrupt the gangs while they are publicising people-smuggling activities and provide an additional tool when building a case against those peddling this content.

Home Office analysis shows that approximately 80% of migrants arriving via small boats told officials that they used social media during their illegal journey to the UK, including to locate or communicate with an agent or facilitator associated with an organised crime group.

Many people who come to the UK and end up working illegally are often sold a false narrative about their ability to live and work here, creating a draw for people to risk their lives by crossing the Channel in a small boat. That’s why this offence will also crack down on content which explicitly promises illegal work which clearly breaches UK immigration laws.

The proposed measure will also make it a crime to post online content that encourages someone to break UK immigration law in exchange for financial incentives. An example of this would be someone being paid by a people smuggler to post content on social media which promotes illegal journeys to the UK.

Individuals caught by the offence could receive a prison sentence of up to 5 years and a large fine.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

Selling the false promise of a safe journey to the UK and a life in this country – whether on or offline – simply to make money, is nothing short of immoral.

These criminals have no issue with leading migrants to life-threatening situations using brazen tactics on social media. We are determined to do everything we can to stop them – wherever they operate.

We have to stay one step ahead of the ever-evolving tactics of people-smuggling gangs and this move, part of our Plan for Change to boost border security, will empower law enforcement to disable these tactics faster and more effectively, ensuring people face proper penalties.

National Crime Agency Director General (Operations), Rob Jones, said:

We know many of the people-smuggling networks risking lives transporting people to the UK promote their services to migrants using social media.

The majority of migrants arriving in the UK will have engaged with smugglers in this way. This is why we work with social media companies to target smugglers’ accounts, and we’ve increased the pace of takedowns.

These proposed new powers will offer UK law enforcement additional options to target criminal gangs and their business models as they use online platforms for their criminality.

Joanne Jakymec, a Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said:

We have been working with the Home Office on this standalone offence to provide our expertise on how best to shape its inclusion in the Border Security Bill to impact people smugglers.

Once it’s in force, the CPS won’t hesitate to charge cases where we have evidence of suspects using social media to advertise small boat crossings, fake travel documents, or illegal working opportunities.

We will also use the additional money allocated to us this year to recruit specialist lawyers to prosecute immigration crime cases referred to us by law enforcement agencies.

Online adverts for people-smuggling services are part of the business model for organised crime groups that everyone in the Border Security Command is working tirelessly to disrupt and stop.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has taken action against a number of people-smuggling organised crime groups where social media accounts have been used to promote crossings, including a South Wales-based gang who were convicted in November 2024 and smuggled thousands of migrants across Europe. Social media videos posted by those who had been successful were used to promote the service they offered.

Another network operated by Preston-based smuggler Amanj Hasan Zada, later jailed for 17 years, also posted videos of migrants thanking him for helping them.

Cases of Albanian people smugglers who have used social media platforms to promote £12,000 ‘package deals’ to Britain including accommodation and employment upon arrival would also be within scope under the new measure.

Since December 2021, the NCA has worked closely with social media companies to remove around 22,000 posts promoting organised immigration crime, with more than 8,000 removed in 2024 – a 40% increase on the previous year. The new measure will bolster efforts by the NCA and other law enforcement to build cases against those who facilitate organised immigration crime in this way.

Combined with the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill’s new counter-terror style powers, the new legislation will ensure law enforcement are able to investigate, disable and bring people-smuggling gangs to justice faster.

In many cases, people smugglers who post content on social media also help facilitate journeys, for example by sourcing boats and exchanging information. That is why the bill will also make it a crime to supply or handle items suspected of being used to assist illegal entry into the UK, such as small boat parts – which could lead to a prison sentence of up to 14 years. It will further introduce an offence to collect information to be used by organised immigration crime gangs, such as small boat crossing departure points and timings.

Collectively, the measures will allow law enforcement to intervene in people-smuggling activity at a much earlier stage, disrupting their work before crossings can take place.

On top of this robust new legislation, the government has surged enforcement action against illegal migration, with a 50% increase in arrests of those caught working illegally, returning 35,000 people with no right to be in the UK, and imposing tougher sanctions against gang ring leaders, key intermediaries and suppliers of people-smuggling equipment.

And last month the Prime Minister agreed a groundbreaking new returns deal with the French. The pilot scheme will see small boat arrivals being returned to France, then an equal number of migrants will be able to come to the UK from France through a new legal route.

The agreement is intended to prevent illegal migrant journeys across Europe to the UK and prevent dangerous small boat crossings, helping to undermine the business model of organised gangs profiting from people’s misery by showing others these journeys could result in them being returned to France – ultimately saving lives.