Working day and night, we will stop the boats, says Robert Jenrick

Robert Jenrick is determined to stop the boats To dismantle the people smuggling gangs orchestrating the small boat crossings, we need to pursue them at every stage on the illegal migration journey. Through two new deals, we have elevated our cooperation with French to unprecedented levels with 40 percent uplift in the number of UK-funded officers patrolling French beaches in northern France– helping step up efforts to detect and disrupt crossings before they leave France. We’ve also delivered an expanded UK-France Joint Intelligence Cell, to dismantle organised crime groups and more technology to prevent crossings, including drones, night vision capabilities and detection dog teams. However the beaches of northern France are the goal line; we must smash the gangs and facilitators upstream, long before they are in striking distance of the UK. I have seen first-hand as I’ve shuttled between countries this year, from Algeria and Tunisia to Italy and Belgium, the benefits of our increased cooperation to crack down on these criminal networks across the whole route, and to cut off their access to the supply of equipment. Hundreds of flimsy and unseaworthy small boats and engines are transported through Europe each year for the purpose of illegal migration. Each consignment is a death trap; each seizure is an opportunity to save lives and end the human misery and stop illegal migrants reaching our shores. A network of people smugglers must be met by a network of allies – and the Turkish Government are at the forefront of this network. When I visited the Turkish-Bulgarian Border Check Point at Kapikule – the largest and busiest border crossing point in Europe – I saw the excellent joint operational work to target organised crime and the long history of intelligence-sharing and law enforcement cooperation. Today we build on that work with the announcement of an enhanced the UK and Turkey partnership on organised immigration crime which cements our two countries as foremost strategic partners, working together in the fight against organised immigration crime. We will be intensifying the sharing of intelligence, people and technology to disrupt and dismantle people smuggling gangs and the manufacture and supply of materials which enable small boat crossings. Our deepened partnership includes support by the UK for a new centre based in Turkey to be established by the Turkish National Police, which will act as a new operational ‘Centre of Excellence’ to tackle Organised Immigration Crime. This is backed with increased cooperation between cutting-edge UK and Turkish intelligence which will allow operational staff to share more information, more quickly – and help prevent the movement of small boat supplies and materials into Western Europe. The Home Secretary and I are determined that the UK is a leading force in tackling illegal migration and a partner to all those allies who share our determination to defeat it. We have recently signed agreements with Bulgaria and Georgia too. In May, the Prime Minister announced a new partnership with Bulgaria, a key point of entry for small boats and engines moved across the continent of Europe – to help them destroy the business model of organised criminal gangs who are deeply involved in illegal migration. This work is all backed by the increase in funding given to the National Crime Agency (NCA) for tackling organised immigration crime in Europe. Additionally, on Sunday Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a new partnership between social media companies and government to accelerate action to tackle people smuggling content online, such as material promoting illegal Channel crossings. At home we are getting the asylum backlog down and moving migrants to basic and more appropriate accommodation like large disused military sites and barges to send a clear message. Illegal working visits and enforced returns of those with no right to be here have significantly increased. Meanwhile, our tough new Illegal Migration Act means that those who come here illegally cannot expect to stay. Working night and day, at home and abroad, we will stop the boats.