❓WHAT HAPPENED: Arrests for organised immigration crime by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) fell by 16 percent in the year to April, despite Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pledging to “smash the gangs” behind people smuggling.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The NCA, Keir Starmer, Reform Party leader Nigel Farage.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Data covers the year leading to April 2025, with incidents focused on the English Channel and British borders.
💬KEY QUOTE: “It’s never been easier to be a people smuggler.” – Shadow Attorney General Robert Jenrick
🎯IMPACT: Over 50,000 migrants have arrived in the United Kingdom via small boats since Labour entered office.
The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) says arrests for organised immigration crime dropped by 16 percent in the year to April. This comes despite Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to “smash the gangs” driving people-smuggling.
Small boat migrant arrivals in the United Kingdom have surpassed 50,000 since Labour entered office, breaking records. Shadow Attorney General Robert Jenrick, of the formerly governing Conservative (Tory) Party, criticized the government’s handling of the issue, stating, “It’s never been easier to be a people smuggler.” However, small boat crossings began in earnest under the previous Conservative government, growing progressively worse over time.
“As I predicted 5 years ago, unless we deport illegal migrants the invasion will be huge,” Reform Party leader Nigel Farage wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday. “50,000 since our weak Prime Minister took office and there is no sign of it stopping.”
Image by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street.
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