'Removal and deterrence' is ONLY solution to migrant crisis, NCA says

‘Britain’s FBI’ says the migrant crisis can ONLY be resolved with a ‘removal and deterrence’ scheme

The NCA said no amount of law enforcement can halt people smuggling gangs
The agency said migrants must also be deterred from trying to reach UK shores

The Channel migrant crisis cannot be solved without a ‘removal and deterrence’ scheme, the National Crime Agency has warned.

In an internal memo, the agency dubbed the ‘British FBI’ said 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 frank assessment is a major blow to Sir Keir Starmer, who will vow this week to axe the Government’s flagship scheme to deport Channel migrants to Rwanda if Labour win power.

The Labour leader will travel to the Hague tomorrow for talks with Europol, where he will claim the cruel trade in people smuggling can be halted by ‘smashing’ the criminal gangs responsible.

But the assessment by the National Crime Agency (NCA) suggests Labour’s plan cannot work unless it is accompanied by measures to remove and deter people from attempting to come to the UK illegally.

The NCA memo, produced earlier this year, warns that most of the criminality happens outside the UK and that much of the activity is not illegal in the countries where it takes place, such as the transportation of dinghies for use by migrants.

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A source said the NCA assessment warned that people smuggling networks are so widespread, unsophisticated and profitable, that new criminals appear to replace those who get arrested.

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

‘The gangs have no hierarchy and it’s effectively like whack-a-mole. 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. No country has ever stopped people trafficking upstream in foreign countries.

‘The Australians have stopped it but that was with a deportation scheme.’

Labour has opposed every attempt by ministers to clamp down on illegal migration in recent years.

But Sir Keir will make an audacious bid this week to get on the front foot on the issue, which has long been seen as a weak point for Labour.

He will argue that Rishi Sunak has failed in his pledge to ‘stop the boats’ and claim the Rwanda scheme is a distraction.

Sir Keir will commit Labour to dismantling the ‘unworkable’ scheme and diverting resources into a beefed-up NCA unit dedicated to tackling criminal gangs.

Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) will make an audacious bid this week to get on the front foot on the issue, which has long been seen as a weak point for Labour

A Labour source said: ‘If you want to solve the problem, the thing to do is smash the gangs.

‘Instead, the Government focuses on all these noisy issues. It’s constant gimmicks.’

But a Government source said Labour were ‘trying to hoodwink people’ by suggesting they could halt the cruel migrant trade without a Rwanda-style scheme.

‘It doesn’t matter what resources you put into law enforcement – you have to have a scheme to deter and remove people or you will fail,’ they said.

The source pointed out that several EU countries, including Denmark, Austria and Italy, have all expressed interest in establishing a Rwanda-style scheme of their own in order to deter migrants from coming.

Ministers argue that the plan to send Channel migrants to Rwanda will break the business model of the criminal gangs by severing the link between boarding a dinghy in northern France and starting a new life in the UK.

But the plan has been delayed by legal action, with the Supreme Court not expected to rule on the case until the end of this year.

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