British police are set to work with countries in North Africa in bid to ‘stop up to 400,000 migrants crossing the Mediterranean in small boats this summer’
- Italy predicts up to 400,000 migrants could cross Mediterranean to its shores
- Home Office fears growing Mediterranean crossings could mean trouble for UK
British police officers are aiding north African countries to crack down on people-smuggling gangs, in an attempt to prevent hundreds of thousands of migrants crossing the Mediterranean in small boats this year.
The Italian government has predicted some 400,000 people could reach its shores this year, more than four times that of the previous 12 months.
80,000 migrants came to Italy within the first three months of this year via small boats and other irregular means, The Times reports.
Officers from the UK’s National Crime Agency are helping to co-ordinate efforts in north Africa to prevent a surge from happening.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said: ‘We’re taking the fight to the people-smuggling gangs upstream to help prevent dangerous and unnecessary journeys long before migrants are within reach of the UK.
The Italian government has predicted some 400,000 people could reach its shores this year using small boats, more than four times that of the previous 12 months
‘Just as we’ve deepened diplomatic and security co-operation on illegal migration with France, Italy and Albania, we are working to enhance our cooperation with other key transit and source countries for migration to tackle this shared challenge. It is right that we use all the assets of the state to disrupt, degrade and deny gangs at source.’
The Home Office fears that a wave of crossings over the Mediterranean will lead to many entering the UK through backdoor channels.
Already, 7,569 migrants have made the treacherous journey across the English Channel this year – although this is 25 per cent less than during the same period last year.
Officials however anticipate there will be more crossing in the summer, leading them to renewed efforts to target trafficking gangs.
Mr Jenrick will today kickstart a five-day tour of north Africa and parts of southern Europe.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said: ‘We’re taking the fight to the people-smuggling gangs upstream to help prevent dangerous and unnecessary journeys long before migrants are within reach of the UK’
He will visit Tunisia and Algeria, offering their governments ‘all the assets’ of the UK to to help stamp out people smuggling.
Mr Jenrick will also meet senior politicians in Libya, where tens of thousands of migrants await being transported to the European mainland.
A new diplomatic agreement has allowed the officers from the National Crime Agency, known colloquially as Britain’s FBI, to lead the fight against serious and organised crime in north Africa.
They will exchange intelligence with north African police forces and local authorities to shut down immigration crime gangs.
The UK has already pledged £480million to France in an unprecedented deal over three years, in order to help identify people smuggling gangs operating in the channel through police work, technology and intelligence.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also championed the illegal Migration Bill, which seeks to bar all migrants who arrive illegally from making an asylum claim. The legislation, if passed, would also give the government powers to detain migrants indefinitely as well as deport them to Rwanda.
Mr Sunak is hoping for a decision from the Court of Appeal next month regarding the Rwanda policy.
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