People smugglers face having their assets frozen and being banned from entering the UK, the foreign secretary has announced.David Lammy said new powers under the Sanctions Act will allow the UK to freeze the assets of anyone complicit in smuggling illegal migrants into the country.
They can also be banned from travelling to the UK.The first wave of sanctions on smuggling gangs and their enablers will be imposed on Wednesday.
Mr Lammy said it is the “world’s first sanctions regime” targeted at smuggling gangs.Gang leaders, small boat suppliers, people making and selling fake passports and middlemen facilitating payments by migrants through hawala networks (informal systems for transferring money) will all be targeted this week.
They will be publicly named on a sanctions list, making it illegal for the UK financial system to engage with them.By using the Sanctions Act, the government said it can target the smuggling gangs wherever they are in the world, including where law enforcement and criminal justice approaches cannot reach.
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How people smugglers dodge French police
Labour’s manifesto promised to “smash the gangs”, but the first half of 2025 has seen a record number of small boat crossings, with about 20,000 from January to June – the highest ever in that period, and 48% more than the first half of 2024.Earlier this month, the UK and France announced a pilot scheme under which migrants arriving in the UK illegally from France will be returned and a legitimate asylum seeker will be able to come to the UK. They did not say how many would be returned each week, but the suggestion was 50.
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Migrants wading through the sea in France to board a small boat destined for the UK. Pic: PA
On the latest sanctions, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “For too long, criminal gangs have been lining their corrupt pockets and preying on the hopes of vulnerable people with impunity as they drive irregular migration to the UK. We will not accept this status quo.”It is our moral duty and a key part of our Plan for Change to do all we can to smash these gangs and secure Britain’s borders.
“That’s why the UK has created the world’s first sanctions regime targeted at gangs involved in people smuggling and driving irregular migration, as well as their enablers.”From tomorrow, those involved will face having their assets frozen, being shut off from the UK financial system and banned from travelling to the UK.”Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the sanctions send a “clear message that there is no hiding place for those who exploit vulnerable people and put lives at risk for profit”.
