Keir Starmer says illegal immigration should be treated like terrorism as he reveals 24,000 people have been booted out of Britain since the election despite axing of Rwanda ‘gimmick’

By DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE

Published: 09:49 BST, 31 March 2025 | Updated: 09:55 BST, 31 March 2025

Illegal immigration must be treated like terrorism on a global scale if it to be cut, Sir Keir Starmer warned today.

The Labour PM used an international summit in London to demand greater action against criminal gangs profiting from trafficking large numbers of people, including across the Channel.

The PM, who is under pressure over record numbers making the journey from the continent so far this year, said the scale of the problem ‘makes me angry, frankly, because it’s unfair on ordinary working people who pay the price’.

He also took a swipe at the Tories, branding the Rwanda deportation scheme a ‘gimmick’ that would have taken just 300 people out of the UK. 

He revealed 24,000 foreign nationals have been deported since he became PM – the most for eight years.

‘We’ve got to bring to bear all the powers we have at our disposal in much the same way that we do against terrorism,’ he said.

‘I simply don’t believe that organised immigration crime cannot be tackled.

‘So we’ve got to combine our resources, share intelligence and tactics and tackle the problem upstream at every step of the smuggling journey, from North Africa and the Middle East to the high streets of our biggest cities.’

Countries including Albania, Vietnam and Iraq – from where migrants have travelled the UK – will join the talks, which are the first of their kind, alongside representatives from France, the US and China. 

The Labour PM used an international summit in London to demand greater action against criminal gangs bringing large numbers of people across the Channel.

The PM, who is under pressure over record numbers making the journey from the continent so far this year, said the scale of the problem ‘ makes me angry, frankly, because it’s unfair on ordinary working people who pay the price’.

Countries including Albania, Vietnam and Iraq – from where migrants have travelled the UK – will join the talks, which are the first of their kind, alongside representatives from France, the US and China.

The PM called on the 40 countries that are gathering in London on Monday and Tuesday to work together to stop people-smuggling gangs in the same way they would terrorists. 

Writing in today’s Daily Mail, the Prime Minister says international co-operation is the ‘foundation’ of securing Britain’s borders. Some £30 million of funding will be directed to tackle supply chains, illicit finances and trafficking routes across Europe, the Balkans, Asia and Africa.

An extra £3 million will boost the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) capacity to prosecute smugglers and expand its international footprint.

But the Tories have cast doubt on the plan and said the Government ‘has lost control’ of Britain’s borders after record Channel crossings in the first part of this year.

Some 6,642 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year in 119 boats, including more than 4,000 this month alone.

Developments aimed at tackling illegal migration ahead of the gathering include: 

• The Government will expand right-to-work checks to cover gig economy workers by making amendments to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. Businesses that do not carry out the checks could be fined up to £60,000, or face closures, director disqualifications, and even up to five years in prison.
• Home Secretary Yvette Cooper signalled she wanted to crack down on the number of people who have arrived in the UK on a student or work visa and have since claimed asylum.
• The Government is reviewing how Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the right to family life, applies to migration cases, Ms Cooper said. Several deportation attempts have been halted by how the ECHR clause has been interpreted in UK law. Ministers have looked to a tougher approach in Denmark for inspiration.
• Some £1 million in UK funding will go towards strengthened efforts to root out people-smuggling kingpins in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, the Home Office announced.
• The UK has launched an advertising campaign on Vietnamese social media and messenger app Zalo, warning people about trusting people-smuggling gangs in an effort to reduce irregular migration from the south-east Asian country.

Opening the summit at London’s Lancaster House, the Prime Minister said: ‘Illegal migration is a massive driver of global insecurity. It undermines our ability to control who comes here, and that makes people angry.

‘It makes me angry, frankly, because it’s unfair on ordinary working people who pay the price – from the cost of hotels, to our public services struggling under the strain.

‘And it’s unfair on the illegal migrants themselves, because these are vulnerable people being ruthlessly exploited by vile gangs.’

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Keir Starmer says illegal immigration should be treated like terrorism as he reveals 24,000 people have been booted out of Britain since the election despite axing of Rwanda ‘gimmick’

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