Sir Keir Starmer has promised to scrap the government's Rwanda asylum scheme “straight away” if Labour wins the general election, redirecting the saved funds to hire specialist investigators to tackle small boat crossings in the English Channel.
Speaking in Dover alongside newly defected Labour MP Natalie Elphicke, the Labour leader outlined plans for a new Border Security Command, which would work with Border Force, MI5, and the National Crime Agency to prosecute people-smuggling gangs. The unit would be led by a former police, military, or intelligence chief reporting directly to the home secretary.
Starmer argued that cancelling the Rwanda scheme would free up £75 million in the first year to hire hundreds of extra investigators and intelligence agents. He also proposed using counter-terror powers under the Terrorism Act to search suspects, monitor their finances, and restrict their internet, banking, and travel access.
Labour aims to negotiate access to the EU's Eurodac fingerprint database and would introduce new legislation to enable these powers “very quickly”. However, the party has not specified whether it would implement EU legislation underpinning the database.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended the government's approach, saying “we've got a plan, and we're going to get our planes off”. The Conservatives have accused Labour of creating an “amnesty for illegal immigrants” by allowing small boat arrivals to apply for asylum, which is currently banned under the Illegal Migration Act. Labour denies this, accusing the Tories of a “Travelodge amnesty” for housing people in hotels.
Peter Walsh from Oxford University's Migration Observatory said Labour's plan was “unlikely to be a game changer” and appeared “pretty similar” to the existing Small Boats Operational Command. Starmer did not set a target for reducing crossings but said he wanted numbers to come down “dramatically”.
