The UK government has pledged an additional £100 million to combat illegal people-smuggling operations across the English Channel, amid record numbers of small boat crossings and growing political pressure to reduce illegal migration.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed the funding on Friday, announcing that the investment would support the recruitment of up to 300 extra National Crime Agency (NCA) officers, new surveillance technology, and equipment to disrupt smuggling networks operating across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
More than 25,000 people have already made the dangerous crossing from France to the UK this year—setting a new high for the first seven months of any year since records began.
“The criminal gangs running this trade have shown a ruthless ability to adapt their tactics, putting lives at risk in pursuit of profit,” said Cooper. “This additional funding will strengthen the UK’s capacity to track them down, dismantle their networks, and bring them to justice.”
The announcement comes as the government prepares to launch a new pilot returns agreement with France, under a “one in, one out” model. The scheme would see some Channel arrivals returned to France, while the UK would accept an equivalent number of screened asylum seekers through formal routes.
Border Security Minister Angela Eagle told the BBC that “there is no easy, one-step solution” to ending Channel crossings, adding that the issue has “taken hold of our borders for six years.”
The new funding will also support 91 ongoing NCA investigations into organised people-smuggling operations, according to the agency’s director of operations, Rob Jones.
However, the opposition has criticised the plan. Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp called it “a desperate grab for headlines,” arguing Labour has “no serious plan” to deter crossings. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage echoed the sentiment, accusing the government of “throwing taxpayer money” at a crisis without addressing the root causes.
The government is also introducing a new criminal offence targeting individuals who promote illegal migration online. Those found advertising services such as fake passports, illegal jobs, or Channel crossings could face up to five years in prison and large fines.
Separately, ministers are moving to tighten student visa rules from next month, with stricter requirements for universities on visa refusal and course completion rates in a bid to close a loophole allegedly exploited by some asylum seekers.
Meanwhile, tensions continue to rise over the use of asylum hotels. On Sunday, a protest outside the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf turned violent, with flares set off and a man arrested for assaulting a police officer. Protesters were accused of harassing staff and trying to breach security fencing.
The government has vowed to close all asylum hotels before the next general election as part of wider reforms to streamline the asylum process and remove failed applicants more swiftly.
