'Smash gangs has become smash records'

The director-general of Border Force, Philip Douglas, saw his basic salary increase to between £140,000 and £145,000.

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£140,000. But Mr Douglas also received bonuses of up to £15,000 in 2024/25.

The previous year he received £130,000 for heading up the agency and was given a bonus said to be between £15,000 and £20,000.

Sources have described Mr Douglas as a “good man” who regularly presses the French to do more to prevent Channel migrant crossings.

Daniel Hobbs, the director-general of the Migration and Borders Group at the Home Office, also enjoyed a pay rise in the last financial year and now takes home a basic salary of between £130,000 and £135,000.