UK unveils new restrictions on smugglers

Suspected people smugglers in the UK could face travel bans and faster restrictions on social media and mobile phones, under government plans announced on Thursday to reduce cross-Channel migrant arrivals by boat.

The Home Office announced the plan to impose new temporary serious crime prevention orders (SCPOs) on smugglers before they face criminal charges, a day after figures showed arrivals are set to soar in 2024.

Some 36,816 people were detected crossing the Channel last year, a 25% increase on the 29,437 who arrived in 2023, according to provisional figures from the ministry.

Currently, the imposition of SCPOs on criminals, including people traffickers, involves “a complex and time-consuming process” which the government said “limits the use of this powerful tool”.

The planned interim injunctions — to be included in a bill to be introduced to parliament in the coming weeks — would allow law enforcement agencies to ask the court to impose immediate restrictions while the full injunction is considered.

Suspects can be banned from using laptops or mobile phones, accessing social media networks, associating with certain people or accessing their finances under the orders.

Breaching an interim order could lead to up to five years in prison, the interior ministry said.

SCPOs have been used since 2008 commonly to prevent various types of serious crime, including knife crime, slavery and human trafficking.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said smugglers “profit from undermining our border security and putting lives at risk” and “can’t get away with it”.

“We will give law enforcement the stronger powers they need to pursue and stop more of these nefarious gang networks,” he said.

However, the draft temporary orders faced immediate pushback from some civil liberties advocates.

Conservative MP David Davies, a former cabinet minister, told The Times newspaper it “sounds unduly draconian”.

“We’ll have to go through the exact wording, but there’s a reason for the proper sequencing of the charge and arrest process before you can do other things, and that’s to protect the freedom of ordinary, law-abiding people,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Refugee Council on Thursday criticized the UK government’s efforts to limit migrant travel across the Channel after last year saw the highest number of recorded deaths in its waters.

The charity said in a new report that stepped-up government enforcement efforts had made crossings “even more dangerous” as smugglers responded by cramming more people “into less seaworthy boats”.

He urged ministers to “adopt a mixed approach that combines enforcement with the introduction of safe and legal routes”.