World needs to ‘wake up’ to people smuggling threat: Starmer

GLASGOW: People smuggling should be put on a par with global terrorism, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday, as he pushed for closer international cooperation to tackle the issue.

The Labour party leader, a former chief state prosecutor in England and Wales, has vowed to “smash the gangs” behind the trade, amid concern at the rising number of undocumented migrants crossing the Channel from France.

UK government statistics showed that nearly 32,000 undocumented migrants have been brought ashore this year after attempting the crossing. At least 60 people have died -- the worst year since records began in 2018. Addressing international police chiefs in Glasgow, Starmer said that his government would double the £75 million ($97 million) it has earmarked to tackle criminal people smuggling gangs.

The additional funding will provide £150 million over two years for a new “elite” Border Security Command, comprising law enforcement and immigration officers as well as intelligence agencies.

But Starmer said the issue -- “a massive driver of global insecurity” -- could not be tackled by individual nations alone and urged countries not to work in isolation. “The world needs to wake up to the severity of this challenge,” he said, adding: “People smuggling should be viewed as a global security threat similar to terrorism. “We´ve got to combine resources, share intelligence and tactics, and tackle the problem upstream,” he told Interpol´s general assembly.