Extra £100m to help smash Channel gangs

THE Home Office is giving £100 million of extra funding to support the pilot of the new “one in, one out” returns agreement between the UK and France and other efforts to crack down on small boat crossings.

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The cash will also pay for up to 300 more National Crime Agency (NCA) officers and new technology and equipment to step up intelligence-gathering on smuggling gangs.

There will be more overtime for immigration teams as well as funding for interventions in transit countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Labour is seeking to deter smuggling gangs as small boat crossings top 25,000 in 2025 - a record for this point in the year.

The “one in, one out” deal means the UK will for the first time be able to send migrants back to France in exchange for asylum seekers with links to Britain.