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Watch live as foreign secretary David Lammy announces new sanctions to target the finances of people smuggling networks in a major speech on Thursday (9 January).
The planned measures are intended to disrupt the flow of money and make it harder for ringleaders to profit from the deadly trade.
It will be the world’s first standalone sanctions regime dedicated to targeting irregular migration and organised immigration crime.
Sir Keir Starmer said: “We must dismantle the crime gangs facilitating breaches of our borders.”
He said that “crippling illicit finance rings allowing smugglers to traffic vulnerable people across Europe” would help “secure UK borders”.
The government will bring forward legislation for the new scheme, which is expected to come into force within the year.
The plans have not yet been finalised but the regime is likely to operate on similar lines to other sanctions, meaning asset freezes and travel bans for individuals or firms where there are “reasonable grounds to suspect” involvement in people smuggling.
The sanctions regime would prevent them using UK financial institutions to invest or move money around.
If the new scheme is in line with the UK’s other regimes, such as those aimed at tackling terrorism, cyber attacks or Russians linked to the war in Ukraine, breaches of sanctions could be a criminal offence, punishable by up to seven years in prison.
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