Migrant expert tells Keir Starmer he has no chance of smashing the gangs - 'not possible'

A people smuggling expert has poked holes in Keir Starmer's pledge to "smash the gangs", warning the Prime Minister that his major campaign promise is "not at all possible". Starmer met with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss a shared response to stopping small boats crossing the Channel this week, as part of a wider effort to secure British borders. But the now-familiar tagline, heralded as the Prime Minister's solution to the illegal migration crisis, risks becoming a hollow statement of intent rather than an effective policy, one migrant expert has warned.

Rob Lawrie, a former soldier turned people smuggling investigator, said it was "not at all" possible to smash all the people smuggling gangs. "We've been looking at this for over a decade now and these networks - we call them gangs, but they are highly sophisticated networks that span not only Europe but the globe - have evolved into such a ridiculously smooth operation," he added.

When questioned by Victoria Derbyshire on BBC Newsnight about the PM's flagship policy, Mr Lawrie, who helped bring notorious people smuggler Barzan Majeed, or 'the scorpion', to justice, shot down any hopes of the approach successfully bringing down illegal migration numbers.

"Only recently, we've seen the slow movement of governments around Europe, in particular France and the UK, starting to think about coming up with a plan," he said.

"In terms of smashing the gangs as a strapline, it works for the voters maybe, but all you can really hope to do is ... have certain success in disrupting the network."

The ex-soldier added that the people operating on the ground in people smuggling investigations were often "facilitators" rather than the operation masterminds - another hurdle in the way of on-the-ground efforts to "smash" the criminal networks.

Keir Starmer is reportedly hoping to secure a "one in, one out" migration deal with his French counterpart during a summit at Downing Street on Thursday - but while the agreement could be held up as an example of progress, it would only result in the return of a fraction of the 21,000 people who have crossed the Channel so far this year.

The total, which is up more than 50% on the same time last year, also marks the earliest point in a calendar year at which the 20,000 mark has been passed since records began in 2018, according to the PA News Agency.

The government is planning to tackle the growing problem through its Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, with measures including the introduction of new counter-terror-style powers for police and criminal offences focused specifically on people-smuggling gangs.

However, David Bolt, the UK's borders watchdog, said last month that he was not "very optimistic" about the government's ability to "smash the gangs", suggesting that officials shouldn't expect to be able to "eradicate" organised crime.