International crime-fighting teams to be deployed by G7 against gangs in illegal migrant hotspots

Ms Cooper said: “Criminal smuggling gangs who organize small boat crossings undermine our border security and put lives at risk. Our new government is rapidly accelerating cooperation with other countries to crack down on these dangerous gangs.

“Today’s newly agreed G7 action plan provides an important focus on international law enforcement and reflects our determination to work with global partners on these shared challenges.

“New international joint investigative teams will help coordinate cross-border action and supplement the measures we have already taken to set up the UK Border Security Command and back it with new funding.

“The plan will help to increase both voluntary and enforced returns of migrants to countries of origin. It aims to offer migrants more choices and improve the overall management of migration flows.”

Channel crossing resume

The move came as migrants were brought to shore on Friday after crossing the English Channel, the first arrivals following a spell of bad weather.

Pictures showed people wearing life jackets arriving in Dover on a Border Force vessel on Friday, the first crossings since Sunday, when 59 people were recorded as arriving in one boat.

Some 25,244 migrants have so far crossed the Channel this year, 0.3 per cent on this time last year (25,330) and 25 per cent lower than the same period in 2022 (33,611).

‘Follow the money’

The agreement, signed in Rome, tasked law enforcement officers from the G7 to launch joint investigative actions against “high value targets” including organized crime gangs as well as creating a “network of liaison officers” in transit and source countries.

This included sharing expertise on the seizure and confiscation of criminal proceeds by taking a “follow the money” approach.

It also committed to “exploring equitable and mutually beneficial partnerships and bilateral or multilateral instruments with countries of origin, transit, and destination, aimed at cooperation in the field of combating smuggling of migrants, trafficking in persons and border security.”