The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill would give authorities the power to seize phones, prosecute people acting aggressively at sea and make earlier arrests
Tough new counter-terror-style laws giving police greater powers to target traffickers responsible for small boat crossings have been unveiled.
A new Bill will allow phones and laptops to be seized from new arrivals, and will include measures to arrest people smugglers before dangerous journeys take place. There will also be prison sentences of up to 14 years for those who sell or handle small boat parts.
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, put in front of MPs today, includes a new criminal offence of aggression or intimidation while at sea. Home Office sources said there have been instances of “floating crime scenes”, where dangerous behaviour has led to deaths on the Channel.
It will also be a criminal offence to prevent offers of rescue at sea – carrying a five year sentence. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the plan will “equip our law enforcement agencies with the powers they need to stop these vile criminals”. People found to be collecting information to help smuggling gangs – such as arranging locations, dates and times for journeys – will also face prosecution.
And Rishi Sunak’s controversial Safety of Rwanda Act will be repealed, the Government has confirmed. But human rights groups have warned that the measures could lead to crossings becoming even more dangerous. The Mirror reported earlier this month that 78 people were estimated to have died at the border between the UK and France last year. This was more than three times higher than the 24 recorded a year earlier.
Ms Cooper said: “Over the last six years, criminal smuggling gangs have been allowed to take hold all along our borders, making millions out of small boat crossings. This Bill will equip our law enforcement agencies with the powers they need to stop these vile criminals, disrupting their supply chains and bringing more of those who profit from human misery to justice.”
The Home Secretary continued: “These new counter terror-style powers, including making it easier to seize mobile phones at the border, along with statutory powers for our new Border Security Command to focus activity across law enforcement agencies and border force will turbocharge efforts to smash the gangs.” She said it is “critical” that officers have the powers to undermine people smugglers.
The Bill also includes five year sentences for people who import items that can lead to serious crime – such as templates for 3D printed firearms, pill presses and vehicle concealments. The Home Office says that it is currently powerless to act against suspected smugglers until they have facilitated a boat crossing.
The counter-terror style laws will allow them to act earlier. The Bill will also put the role of the UK’s new Border Security Commander, Martin Hewitt, on a legal footing.
He said: “It is vital that government and our law enforcement partners, working together as part of the UK’s border security system, have the right tools to tackle the people smuggling gangs abusing our border.
“This Bill will do exactly that, by equipping teams on the ground dealing with this issue first hand and empowering them to go further and act faster when dismantling organised criminality.”
Graeme Biggar, Director General of the National Crime Agency (NCA), said the Bill “should help UK law enforcement act earlier and faster to disrupt people smuggling networks”. He said: “These criminal gangs risk the lives of those they transport in their deadly pursuit of profit, and we remain determined to work with partners in the UK and abroad to do all we can to stop them.”
But Natasha Tsangarides, from charity Freedom from Torture, questioned how effective it would be. She said: “This Bill will do nothing to address the root causes of forced displacement. Instead, cracking down on the methods refugees use to escape war and persecution will only make their journeys more dangerous. So long as torture exists, smugglers will continue to profit from desperate people who need a place of sanctuary.
“We fear that the Government’s current approach, directed through the frame of counter-terrorism, risks intensifying the vulnerability of those who are forced to rely on smugglers in the absence of safe routes. If the Government truly wants to address the challenges posed by the movement of refugees across borders, then it would be better directed towards stopping the torture that pushes people from their homes in the first place.”
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “We welcome the Government’s commitment to restoring order in the asylum system. By scrapping the costly and fantastical Rwanda plan, repealing much of the previous government’s draconian legislation and overturning the pause on processing asylum applications, the Government has averted a meltdown, cutting delays and preventing higher hotel costs.
“The Government is also right to seek to tackle the vicious smuggling gangs, but we are very concerned that by creating new offences, many refugees themselves could also be prosecuted, which has already been happening in some cases. This would be a gross miscarriage of justice.
“Criminalising men, women and children who have fled conflicts in countries such as Sudan does not disrupt the smuggling gangs’ business model. When a refugee is clambering into a boat with an armed criminal threatening them, they are not thinking about UK laws but are simply trying to stay alive. The most effective way to break the smuggling gangs’ grip is to stop refugees from getting into the boats in the first place, which means giving them a legal way to apply for asylum in the UK without crossing the Channel.
“A properly reformed system would have safe and legal routes for refugees, accurate first-time decisions about who can stay and who must leave, and meaningful support to help refugees integrate into their communities and contribute to Britain. Without these measures, the Government risks failing to restore public confidence by creating a system that delivers both compassion and control.”
