Stopping Channel migrants not possible without Rwanda-style scheme, top crime agency suggests

Efforts to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats will struggle without schemes like Rwanda to remove and deter them, an assessment by the National Crime Agency suggests.

Law enforcement sources said the agency, Britain’s equivalent of the FBI, believed no amount of funding or action against people smugglers would end the crossings on their own.

Trafficking networks were so chaotic and lacking any hierarchy that stopping them was “effectively like whack-a-mole,” where as soon as one was shut down, another took its place, one source said.

“They just keep popping up – all you need is a phone and a dinghy which aren’t illegal items. The NCA position is that you need an effective removals and deterrence agreement,” the law enforcement source added.

“No country has ever stopped people trafficking upstream in foreign countries – the Australians have done it but that was with a deportation scheme.”

The assessment comes as Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is to unveil his party’s strategy to combat small boat crossings with a visit on Thursday to Europol, the EU agency for law enforcement cooperation, in The Hague, Netherlands.

It will include setting up a specialist cross-border cell in the National Crime Agency (NCA), paid for by redirecting funds from the Government’s Rwanda deportation scheme, which Labour regards as “unworkable”.

Elite officers would work with border officials of “upstream” countries to disrupt the people-smuggling supply chain. Extra funds would also be ploughed into clearing the backlog of asylum claims, which costs £6 million a day for hotel accommodation.

Key battleground

Immigration is set to be a key battleground in the run-up to the general election next year with the Rwanda scheme, under which asylum seekers who enter the UK illegally would be deported to the east African country, a key dividing line between the parties.

Deportation flights to Rwanda have been halted pending the outcome of a Supreme Court judgement on their legality this autumn.

A senior law enforcement source said: “The NCA has made it crystal clear internally – no amount of funding could see them stop the boats on their own.”

According to sources, the NCA assessed that there was limited scope for prosecutions in the UK as most of the organised crime gangs behind the people smuggling had a minimal presence in Britain. Often there was no money trail because cash largely exchanged hands before the migrants arrived in the UK.

The sale and handling of boats on the continent was also difficult to stop because there was no offence unless the practice could be directly linked to organised crime, said the sources.

However, officials are examining whether EU legislation could be invoked to allow for the confiscation of the vessels as “dangerous goods”, disrupting the supply chain used by traffickers.

Where the NCA could provide intelligence from its investigations to other nations’ law enforcement agencies, the ability of the countries to prosecute was variable, said the sources. Those involved in supply chains were also often far removed from the people-smuggling gangs in northern France.

More than 23,000 migrants have so far crossed the Channel this year, down around 20 per cent on last year, partly because of a fast-track deportation agreement with Albania, which has reduced numbers arriving from the country by more than 90 per cent.

However, it is understood the NCA still believes the gangs’ business model remains profitable and resilient. The prospects for migrants of reaching the UK and staying remained “high” which was why the NCA said removal and deterrence remained important.

The NCA said it had more than 90 investigations into “top tier” people smugglers and networks.

“There is no single solution law enforcement or otherwise which will end these crossings, but our activity both in the UK and overseas is having an impact, resulting in hundreds of arrests and the disruption of a large number of networks involved in this type of criminality,” said a spokesman.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We are removing the incentive for people to come here illegally through the Illegal Migration Act which will enable us to detain and swiftly remove those that make the treacherous journey across the Channel.

“At the same time we are cracking down on the people smugglers who profit from this evil trade and put lives at risk, by increasing prosecutions, illegal enforcement visits and law enforcement action.”

Ministers are expected next month to announce a new agreement with Frontex, the EU border agency, for intelligence sharing and joint projects at key migrant crossing points into Europe.

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