Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent steps they have taken to tackle gangs involved in people smuggling and organised immigration crime.

The Government stands resolute in its commitment to tackle Organised Immigration Crime (OIC). We continue to pursue the Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) who facilitate illegal travel to the UK and who exploit vulnerable migrants, knowingly putting people in life-threatening situations.

In March 2021, the Government published the New Plan for Immigration which contains provisions to establish legislation to deter illegal entry into the UK, thereby breaking the business model of criminal trafficking networks and protecting the lives of those they endanger. We continue to work at pace to bring this legislation forward so we can crack down on the despicable criminal gangs behind people smuggling.

The Government has taken steps to tackle OIC on social media platforms, reducing the space in which OCGs operate. In March 2021, the Immigration Compliance and Justice Minister met with the National Crime Agency and senior representatives from social media companies to discuss how they can more effectively tackle OIC online. As a result, all partners agreed to develop a joint action plan to tackle content advertising illegal OIC services. This action plan is currently awaiting agreement before implementation.

Reinforcing this commitment to tackle OIC activity online, in June 2021 the Home Secretary wrote to CEOs of key social media companies urging them to do substantially more to proactively identify and remove posts promoting OIC, particularly illegal Channel crossings.

We continue to take steps to tackle highly dangerous entry methods facilitated by these OCGs. As a result of our efforts, more than 4,000 people have been prevented from making the Channel crossing to the UK so far this year. In June 2021, the Government bolstered this effort by utilising the UK G7 Presidency, calling for firmness amongst member states in dealing with ruthless criminality that puts lives in danger and poses a risk to our border security.

The Government will continue to work tirelessly to stop the criminal networks facilitating OIC and protect the lives of those they wish to exploit.