According to The Times, UK police will collaborate with authorities in North Africa to prevent migrants from fleeing to Europe this summer.
The initiative, which will see National Crime Agency officers operating in Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya, will create a new front in Britain’s goal of “stopping the boats,” following a cooperation with France to crack down on people-smuggling gangs.
This year, Italy expects 400,000 migrants to try to reach Europe through its marine borders, with gangs supervising vessel voyages from the North African coast across the Mediterranean.
This is a fourfold increase over last year, with 80,000 people already traveling in the first three months of 2023.
The UK Home Office has warned that the spike could result in an increase in the number of migrants moving north and eventually crossing the English Channel to Britain using small vessels. So far, in 2023, 7,569 migrants have traveled from France to the United Kingdom.
The new agreement with North African countries will include intelligence and expertise sharing, as well as crackdowns on human smugglers.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick will begin a five-day trip of North Africa and Europe on Monday to oversee the scheme’s inauguration.
He is to travel to Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya to meet with peers and discuss law-enforcement operations to “disrupt, degrade, and deny gangs at their source.”
Jenrick told The Times: “We’re taking the fight to the people-smuggling gangs upstream to help prevent dangerous and unnecessary journeys long before migrants are within reach of the UK.
“Just as we’ve deepened diplomatic and security cooperation on illegal migration with France, Italy and Albania, we are working to enhance our cooperation with other key transit and source countries for migration to tackle this shared challenge. It is right that we use all the assets of the state to disrupt, degrade and deny gangs at source.”The new plan is being introduced as the British government’s Illegal Migration Bill is being debated in the House of Lords.
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The new legislation intends to speed up the detention and deportation of illegal immigrants in the UK.
Jenrick will go to Italy after visiting Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya, where she will meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has committed to crack down on illegal migration as part of her G7 agenda.
Jenrick will also meet with French officials in Paris and explore the northern port city of Calais, which serves as the most common departure point for migrant ships going to Britain.
