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| First sanctions against people-smuggling gangs to be announced | First sanctions against people-smuggling gangs to be announced |
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| People financing small boats will be targeted in the wave of new sanctions | People financing small boats will be targeted in the wave of new sanctions |
| Gang leaders, companies supplying small boats, fake passport dealers and middlemen who facilitate payments will be publicly named this week as the first targets of new UK sanctions aimed at tackling people-smuggling. | |
| The financial measures are central to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's plan to disrupt small boat crossings in the English Channel by going after the gangs which organise them. | |
| Dozens of individuals and entities are expected to be hit with asset freezes, travel bans, and restrictions from engaging with the UK's financial system under sanctions set to be unveiled on Wednesday. | |
| It comes as the government comes under growing pressure to stem the flow of small boat crossings. | |
| Sir Keir has pledged to "smash" people-smuggling gangs and made tackling illegal migration at source a key election pledge last year. | |
| Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the plan the "first sanctions regime against irregular migration anywhere on the planet". He added: "As we are leading, others will follow." | |
| People targeted by the sanctions include those who supply fake documents and finance small boats, as well as "middlemen" who push money through Hawala networks, an informal system for organising money transfers often used by smugglers. | People targeted by the sanctions include those who supply fake documents and finance small boats, as well as "middlemen" who push money through Hawala networks, an informal system for organising money transfers often used by smugglers. |
| Earlier this month, he signed a "one in, one out" deal with France to return migrants to France for the equivalent number of legal asylum seekers, subject to security checks. | Earlier this month, he signed a "one in, one out" deal with France to return migrants to France for the equivalent number of legal asylum seekers, subject to security checks. |
| In the first six months of this year, more than 20,000 people crossed in small boats, an increase of nearly 50% on the previous year, according to Home Office data. | In the first six months of this year, more than 20,000 people crossed in small boats, an increase of nearly 50% on the previous year, according to Home Office data. |
| Dr Madeleine Sumption, deputy chair of the Migration Advisory Committee, said she would be "surprised" if the sanctions were a "game changer for the industry as a whole, and for the existence of the small boats route". | Dr Madeleine Sumption, deputy chair of the Migration Advisory Committee, said she would be "surprised" if the sanctions were a "game changer for the industry as a whole, and for the existence of the small boats route". |
| "There are so many people involved in the industry that targeting people individually is probably only going to have an impact around the margins," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. | "There are so many people involved in the industry that targeting people individually is probably only going to have an impact around the margins," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. |
| She added: "The impact is dependent to an extent on the co-operation of other countries where smugglers are operating." | She added: "The impact is dependent to an extent on the co-operation of other countries where smugglers are operating." |
| On Monday, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the number of people entering the UK illegally was causing a "public safety crisis" for women and girls during an urgent question in the Commons. | On Monday, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the number of people entering the UK illegally was causing a "public safety crisis" for women and girls during an urgent question in the Commons. |
| "The truth is you don't stop the Channel crossings by freezing a few bank accounts in Baghdad or slapping a travel ban on a dinghy dealer in Damascus," Philp said in a separate statement responding to the government's announcement. | "The truth is you don't stop the Channel crossings by freezing a few bank accounts in Baghdad or slapping a travel ban on a dinghy dealer in Damascus," Philp said in a separate statement responding to the government's announcement. |
| Ministers say the new sanctions will target immigration crime gangs "where traditional law enforcement and criminal justice approaches cannot reach". | Ministers say the new sanctions will target immigration crime gangs "where traditional law enforcement and criminal justice approaches cannot reach". |
| Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the new sanctions regime is a "decisive step in our fight against the criminal gangs who profit from human misery". | Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the new sanctions regime is a "decisive step in our fight against the criminal gangs who profit from human misery". |
| "It will allow us to target the assets and operations of people-smugglers wherever they operate, cutting off their funding and dismantling their networks piece by piece," she said. | "It will allow us to target the assets and operations of people-smugglers wherever they operate, cutting off their funding and dismantling their networks piece by piece," she said. |
| The announcement comes after tensions in Essex at the weekend during a protest outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers, which was triggered after the arrest and charge of an asylum seeker on suspicion of alleged sexual assaults. | The announcement comes after tensions in Essex at the weekend during a protest outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers, which was triggered after the arrest and charge of an asylum seeker on suspicion of alleged sexual assaults. |
| Police said the protest descended into "mindless thuggery" after flares and bottles were thrown towards officers. | Police said the protest descended into "mindless thuggery" after flares and bottles were thrown towards officers. |
| Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the people protesting as "genuinely concerned families" and said parts of the country are "close... to civil disobedience on a vast scale". | Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the people protesting as "genuinely concerned families" and said parts of the country are "close... to civil disobedience on a vast scale". |