Keir Starmer will meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the UK this week, and will discuss ways to ‘go further’ on tackling illegal migration following the new returns agreement with France
Keir Starmer will this week push German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for tougher action on small boat smugglers.
The German leader will travel to the UK on Thursday, his first visit since taking office in May. The leaders will discuss ways to “go further” to prosecute trafficking gangs, Mr Starmer said.
It comes days after the UK reached a breakthrough returns deal with France – the first since the UK lost legal powers to send people back after Brexit. Writing in the Sunday Express, the PM described illegal migration as a “global problem” – saying the only way to solve it was to work with neighbours.
Germany is widely thought to be a key part of smuggling routes. Last year a large number of inflatable boats were found in a German warehouse after a suspected people trafficker was arrested in the Netherlands.
The 44-year-old Turkish national is accused of shipping engines and boats from Turkey to Germany before they were moved to northern France. Mr Starmer has stepped up co-operation with EU nations to target gangs responsible for tens of thousands of small boat crossings each year.
He said: “When Chancellor Merz of Germany visits the UK this week, we’ll discuss what more we can do together to prosecute criminal networks and prevent people smuggling to the UK.”
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The PM continued: “We’ll go further to tackle this shared issue together.” And he took a brutal swipe at Nigel Farage, claiming the Reform leader will “fade into irrelevance” if progress is made on tackling small boats.
He said: “Farage is terrified of this government succeeding at stopping illegal migration. He doesn’t want the numbers to go down, because he knows that when they do, he’ll fade into irrelevance.”
On Thursday Mr Starmer announced a “one-in-one-out” returns deal with France. This will see people who come in small boats sent back to Europe in exchange for people with legitimate claims to settle in the UK.
Border Security minister Dame Angela Eagle told The Mirror that those sent to the UK will be “fully documented and subject to security and biometric checks”.
She said: “This is a historic step-forward. No government has got the level of co-operation needed to take forward new and bold measures like this.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper last week confirmed that small boat arrivals will be detained after arrival. It is thought around 50 migrants will be deported to France every week under a new pilot scheme, which the Government hopes it can scale up in future.
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