Sir Keir Starmer has been ridiculed for unveiling a “gimmick” to try to end the Channel migrant crisis.
Opening the Interpol General Assembly in Glasgow, the Prime Minister declared that people smugglers must be treated like terrorists and seen as a global security threat.
He said the “world needs to wake up to the severity” of the migration crisis.
And on Monday, Sir Keir told reporters he wanted Britain to lead EU operations targeting smuggling gangs on the continent, due to this nation’s “rich” intelligence and law-enforcement expertise.
The PM told global leaders: “We’ve got to combine resources, share intelligence and tactics, and tackle the problem upstream, working together to shut down the smuggling routes.”
But Reform UK goaded the PM over his flagship announcement, declaring: “Contrary to his plan to end gimmicks, this plan is one big gimmick.”
The party’s leader, Nigel Farage, told the Daily Express: “During the General Election, I declared the situation in the Channel a national security emergency.
“I am pleased that the Prime Minister now agrees with me, but unless we deport people that come here illegally the numbers will continue to rise.
“Now Kemi Badenoch has been elected leader of the Conservative Party, they are committed to staying in the ECHR. That means the Tories will never stop the boats either.”
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson added: “Once again this Labour government never fails to disappoint. We have been told for months by Starmer and Cooper that they will smash the gangs and stop small boat crossings.
“Tories and Labour alike have continued to make promise after promise to end this out-of-control border crisis.
“The reality is that Labour never had any intention or plan to stop illegal migration, to do that they would have had to face up to the fact that we need to leave the ECHR.
“Labour’s first months in office have been a resounding failure. This plan is nothing but a desperate attempt to paper over the gaping cracks.
“With over 17,500 small boat crossings since Labour came to power and over 400 asylum hotels in the UK, Labour are welcoming illegal immigrants with open arms.
“We need to send a message, loud and clear, that if you come here illegally – you will never, ever settle in the United Kingdom.”
Alp Mehmet, from Migration Watch, added: “By binning the Rwanda plan and expanding the accommodation capacity, the Government has made clear it expects the flow of boats to continue. The traffickers are laughing and smashing the gangs is just a pipe-dream.”
Former home secretary Suella Braverman called the plan “more waffle and empty rhetoric”, adding:”The answer isn’t more task forces, more meetings and more millions to the French.
“The solution is simple: a strong deterrent.
“If you come here illegally, you are not welcome and should be deported.”
Speaking after opening the Interpol General Assembly, the PM refused to set any targets for reducing Channel crossings.
Instead, Labour is pinning its hopes of “smashing the gangs” and creating a deterrent by making it harder than ever before to find passage across the Channel.
And forging closer ties with the EU will bolster these attempts, the Prime Minister has insisted.
Calm weather led to 5,417 people crossing in 99 boats in October – the highest monthly total so far this year.
This is 1,225 more than the 4,192 migrants who arrived in Britain in September – the second-largest month of crossings.
In total this year, 31,094 people in 595 boats have made the crossing successfully, more than half while the Labour Government has been in power.
Asked how he envisioned closer ties with Europe leading to more smugglers being arrested, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “I’ll give you one example, which I think is, when we were in the EU, we could lead on operations, and at the moment we can’t.
“We’re very good in the UK. We’ve got very good intelligence, we’ve got very good law enforcement.
“And I’m very keen to get the UK into a leadership position when it comes to the actual operations, particularly in relation to smuggling and putting people into small boats across the Channel.”
The Prime Minister insisted he wants world leaders to treat the illegal migration crisis more seriously.
He said: “Part of what I wanted to say to the international audience is we all need to get into this headspace now, we all need to have a mindset change on this and the more other countries can come with us on this I think the better.
“But I’m absolutely, clear that when it comes to cross-border crime, particularly people smuggling, the more we can share, the better.
“The more we can work together, the better, the more we know whether in this particular instance people have claimed asylum in a previous country, and something can be done about it, the better.”
In his speech in Glasgow, Sir Keir gave his clearest indication yet of one of the things he is hoping to achieve by forging closer ties with Europe – as he ruled out ever leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.
Sir Keir argued this would be crucial in ending the Channel migrant crisis.
He said: “The only way to defeat this vile trade and save lives is to stop people being smuggled here in the first place.
“And that means doing everything possible to deepen our cross-border co-operation. So international agreements matter.
“We’ve got to use every tool we have – operational, diplomatic, political – to join up our response.
“President Macron and I have already agreed to increase intelligence sharing and do more to dismantle smuggling routes further upstream.
“This is also a priority for the bi-lateral co-operation treaty we are working on with Germany.
“We’re working with Italy to dismantle the supply chains of maritime equipment, combat illicit financial flows, and strengthen our investigative capacities and our data sharing.
“And as part of the UK’s wider reset with the European Union, we are seeking a new security pact, including restoring access to real-time intelligence sharing networks.”
