Russian spies have links to people smuggling gangs trafficking asylum seekers into Europe, senior officials have claimed. Daniel Mitov, Bulgaria’s equivalent of the Home Secretary, said his government has evidence of direct links between Russia’s foreign intelligence agency and the criminal gangs helping illegal migrants to enter Europe. His claim comes as ministers from across the continent prepare to meet Sir Keir Starmer in London this week to discuss plans for stemming illegal migration through the Western Balkans.
“Illegal migration inflows are an instrument for hostile regimes to destabilise the European Union and the United Kingdom,” Mr Mitov told the Times. “They are aiming to destabilise the welfare systems [in European countries]. Plus, of course … through smuggling radicalised individuals, they create security issues for us. Now is the time to build a home and preserve our internal freedoms … Every house needs walls. Those walls need to be solid and there are gates through which every guest can enter.”
Mr Mitov also said Bulgaria was on the frontlines of the crisis after it joined the EU’s free movement Schengen area in January, making it the bloc’s south-eastern border with Turkey and essentially “the gateway to Europe”.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper echoed the warning, adding: “It is clear that illegal migration into Europe and beyond is being driven not just by organised crime networks seeking to make a profit, but by hostile state actors seeking to destabilise Europe.”
“We will continue to support Bulgaria and other NATO allies in securing Europe’s external frontiers and tackling every different type of threat we face from the Putin regime, including providing the specialist equipment, intelligence and training that will help our Bulgarian counterparts to defend their borders and disrupt these criminal operations,” Ms Cooper said.
It comes after the UK government returned 16 more people to France this week, taking the number deported under the “one in, one out” deal to 42, according to the Home Office. Meanwhile, the number arriving from France is understood to be at 23.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the latest deportations were the “largest return flight” of the “historic” UK-France agreement and suggested it would “send a warning to those considering entering this country illegally: if you come here by small boat, you can be sent back”.
More flights are expected to take place in the coming days and weeks, but the figures of people crossing the English Channel to arrive in Britain is also continuing to climb, with the total for this year now above 36,000.
