Labour is ready to open the door to the EU’s asylum seekers in exchange for a new borders deal with Brussels

• Sir Keir Starmer will pledge to ‘smash’ the criminal gangs smuggling migrants
• Starmer is willing to open negotiations on joining an EU ‘burden sharing’ system

Labour will offer to take in more migrants from the EU in return for a new borders deal with Brussels, it emerged last night.

Sir Keir Starmer will launch his party’s immigration plan today with a pledge to ‘smash’ the criminal gangs responsible for smuggling thousands of migrants across the Channel.

He will also commit Labour to a deal with the EU that could allow the UK to return some migrants who are deemed to have no claim here.

But Labour sources revealed that in return, Sir Keir is willing to open negotiations about joining an EU ‘burden sharing’ system designed to relocate hundreds of thousands of migrants who land in Greece, Italy and other countries.

The controversial move could see the UK obliged to find homes for thousands of migrants who cross the Mediterranean in search of a new life in Europe.

Sir Keir Starmer will launch his party’s immigration plan today with a pledge to ‘smash’ the criminal gangs responsible for smuggling thousands of migrants across the Channel

Labour sources said the idea was at an ‘early stage’ and declined to say how many people could be involved. But a government source said that if the system was calculated on a population basis, the UK could have been asked to take more than 120,000 of the one million migrants who landed in the EU last year.

The source added: ‘Finally, we get to see Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for illegal migration – he’ll make it legal. He’ll ignore the will of the British people to cut numbers, and instead cut a deal with the EU that would commit us to taking our ‘fair share’ of however many illegal migrants enter Europe each year.

‘That number was nearly one million people last year and is projected to rise this year.

‘No wonder Starmer has tried to keep his plan a secret from the public – it’s open borders by the back door.’

In an interview with The Times last night, Sir Keir confirmed that a Labour government would seek an EU-wide returns deal, saying: ‘We effectively exited the returns agreement we were in and have never replaced it.’

Asked if in order to secure the deal, he would accept the ‘quid pro quo’ of migrant quotas – with Brussels planning to make each member state take at least 30,000 people a year – he replied: ‘That would be part of any discussions and negotiations with Europe.’

Sir Keir also claimed Labour would treat people smugglers like terrorists. He proposed using serious crime prevention orders – to restrict individuals’ movements and freeze their assets – against them.

Sir Keir and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper travelled to The Hague last night ahead of talks at Europol today designed to underline Labour’s commitment to tackling the criminal gangs on an international basis.

Sir Keir also claimed Labour would treat people smugglers like terrorists and proposed using serious crime prevention orders

In an audacious bid to get on the front foot on immigration, Sir Keir will accuse Rishi Sunak of failing to deliver on his pledge to ‘stop the boats’ and claim that only Labour can ‘bring order to the border’.

The Labour leader yesterday told MPs that 40,000 migrants had crossed the Channel since Suella Braverman was made Home Secretary last year, with the hotel bill for accommodating them soaring to £6 million a day. Labour sources said Sir Keir will pledge to ‘dismantle’ the Government’s flagship scheme to send Channel migrants to Rwanda. The money saved would be diverted to the National Crime Agency (NCA) to help tackle the criminal gangs.

The controversial ‘burden sharing’ scheme was set up to relieve pressure on Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Malta, where most migrants heading for the EU first arrive.

But it has met fierce resistance from some countries, particularly in eastern Europe. Several EU countries, including Poland, Hungary, Austria, Denmark, Latvia and Slovakia, have resisted efforts by Brussels to make them take more migrants arriving elsewhere in the EU.

Former Tory minister Brendan Clarke-Smith said it was extraordinary that Labour was contemplating a scheme that could let in even more migrants. He added: ‘Starmer has done nothing with his immigration proposals so far, other than repeating things we are already doing.

The Labour leader yesterday told MPs that 40,000 migrants had crossed the Channel since Suella Braverman was made Home Secretary last year

‘The fact he is now meeting with other European leaders and organisations behind our backs suggests his first priority is to curry favour with them rather than back the British public. This means no Rwanda scheme and the threat of taking even more asylum seekers.’

Downing Street said Sir Keir’s record on immigration was ‘pretty embarrassing’.

The Daily Mail revealed yesterday that the NCA had warned internally that no amount of law enforcement activity can halt the people smuggling gangs unless it is accompanied by measures to deter migrants from trying to reach the UK – and remove those who get here.

The agency dubbed the ‘British FBI’ said tackling the people smuggling gangs was already a ‘top priority’. The NCA did not directly cite the Rwanda scheme but said measures to ‘deter’ people crossing were vital.

It added: ‘Our work is having an impact and will be even more effective if people are deterred from taking these dangerous journeys in the first place.’

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