The Home Office has announced an additional £100 million in funding to support the UK’s efforts to dismantle people-smuggling networks and reduce illegal small boat crossings

across the Channel.

The funding will back the pilot of the recently agreed “one in, one out” migrant returns agreement between the UK and France. Under this scheme, the UK will, for the first time, be able to return migrants to France in exchange for asylum seekers who have ties to Britain.

The investment will also allow the National Crime Agency (NCA) to recruit up to 300 additional officers and purchase advanced technology and equipment to enhance intelligence operations against smuggling gangs. Immigration compliance and enforcement teams will receive additional overtime resources, and there will be increased funding for interventions in transit countries across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Labour, which has made cracking down on smuggling networks a key priority, is seeking to curb the number of small boat arrivals, which have exceeded 25,000 so far this year—a record figure at this point.

Under new measures in the forthcoming Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, individuals who advertise small boat crossings or sell fake passports online could face up to five years in prison.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the extra funding would “turbo-charge” law enforcement’s ability to dismantle smuggling gangs. “This investment strengthens every part of our plan, from tracking criminal networks with state-of-the-art technology to working with international partners to shut them down. It will also support our new agreements with France, helping to restore order to our immigration system and protect the UK’s borders.”

Currently, the NCA has 91 active investigations into smuggling operations targeting the UK, according to Rob Jones, the agency’s director general of operations.

However, the announcement drew criticism from the Conservatives, who dismissed it as a “desperate grab for headlines.” Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of lacking a serious strategy. “Labour’s claim to smash the smuggling gangs is in tatters. They have no credible plan—just slogans and excuses—while criminal networks continue to bring illegal immigrants across our borders. Only the Conservative Deportation Bill offers a real solution: immediate detention, rapid removal, and dismantling these networks for good.” Photo bySteve Cadman, Wikimedia commons.