Keir Starmer prepared to strike deal to take EU’s migrants

A Labour government would accept migrants from Europe as part of a proposed deal with the EU to try to stop the small boats crisis.

The party is considering taking a share of asylum seekers reaching Europe in return for the bloc taking back migrants who arrive illegally having crossed the Channel.

Senior party figures believe Britain is only likely to secure a returns deal, enabling it to deport Channel migrants, if it offers to share the burden of asylum seekers reaching the continent.

The plan emerged as Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, arrived in The Hague on Wednesday to visit Europol, the EU agency for law enforcement cooperation, before a trip to see Emmanuel Macron, the French president, next week.

Speaking in the Netherlands ahead of talks, he said Labour would treat people smugglers like terrorists by giving the National Crime Agency (NCA) expanded powers to freeze their assets and place restrictions on their movement.

With immigration set to be a key battleground in the run-up to the election, Sir Keir aims to offer an alternative to the Government’s Rwanda scheme by redirecting its £140 million funds into a new cross-border NCA unit. Its elite officers will work with other countries to disrupt the people-smuggling supply chains.

He also said Labour would drop the Conservatives’ plans to ban Channel-crossing migrants from claiming asylum in Britain.

Ending use of hotels

On Friday, the Labour leader is expected to set out plans on how the party will reduce the asylum backlog and end the use of hotels for migrants. It currently costs the taxpayer £6 million a day to house 50,000 migrants.

The moves are a direct challenge to Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, who has made stopping the boats one of his five pledges. 

The Government has claimed success by cutting Channel crossings by 20 per cent this year, but more than 23,000 migrants have still reached the UK so far in small boats.

Rwanda flights have also been grounded pending the outcome of a Supreme Court ruling on their legality, while the EU has so far spurned any post-Brexit returns agreement with the UK.

On Wednesday, it emerged that Sir Keir will meet Mr Macron at the Elysée Palace next week as he “tests the waters” with France. 

It is believed Sir Keir requested the meeting and France agreed in order to protect the “strategic nature” of its relationship with Britain, whoever is in charge after the next general election.

It is thought a possible returns deal could be on the agenda for discussion.

Asked about the possibility of a Labour government taking a share of Europe’s migrants as a quid pro quo for a returns agreement, Sir Keir’s spokesman said: “The detail of those conversations will follow but it is clear that having a returns agreement is an essential part of being able to deal with the backlog and reduce the hotel bill.

“The exact way it would operate would have to be for negotiation. The UK will always want to be a country that takes people through safe and legal routes as we have done most recently when it comes to Afghanistan and Ukraine, for example.”

‘Open borders by the back door’

Labour sources told The Telegraph any scheme to take migrants from Europe would be capped and tightly managed, potentially through applications in UK embassies or consuls in upstream countries. 

Those with family already in the UK would be prioritised.

Party sources believe that if a returns agreement could be negotiated, it would “collapse” the people smugglers’ business model.

On Wednesday, Government sources seized on the plan as “open borders by the back door”. 

“Finally we get to see Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for illegal migration – he’ll make it legal,” said a source.

“He’ll ignore the will of the British people to cut numbers, and instead cut a deal with the EU that would commit us to taking our ‘fair share’ of however many illegal migrants enter Europe each year. 

“That number was nearly one million people last year and is projected to rise this year.”

During a trip to Albania on Wednesday, Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, revealed that Albanian migrants reaching the UK in small boats were being deported within 48 hours of their arrival – a record turnaround time.

Sir Keir said Labour would seek a new security agreement with Europe that would include sharing real time data and intelligence on suspects, replacing the so-called SIS II system which Britain lost access to after Brexit. It would also see more UK police and border force officers posted to Europol.

He said fighting people smugglers would be put on a par with tackling climate change, hostile foreign powers and terrorists with GCHQ brought in to support the NCA.

“The first job of any government is national security – protecting the British people from threats that come from here and overseas,” he said.

“The government’s failure to tackle the criminal smuggling gangs orchestrating boat crossings is now so profound that I believe it needs to be considered on a par with the other three big security threats we face: climate change, hostile foreign powers, and terrorism.

“The reality is that Britain’s borders and immigration system are being run by a hostile and growing foreign power, criminal smuggling gangs on the continent.

“Make no mistake, these criminals have perfected their business model. I’ve seen it before when as DPP, I worked with leaders on the continent to stop gun smuggling. They’re organised, well resourced, and ruthless in their tactics.

“My Labour government will be twice as ruthless, to smash the gangs and secure British borders.”