Burnham Doubles Anti-Smuggling Officers to 800 as UK Crossings Since Taking Office Top 2,000
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 2
Burnham Doubles Anti-Smuggling Officers to 800 as UK Crossings Since Taking Office Top 2,000
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 2
Summary
Almost 800 National Crime Agency officers are now targeting Channel smuggling gangs, up from 376 at the start of 2025, with Andy Burnham promising a "relentless" crackdown.
Burnham said French deployments had also doubled and argued the strategy pairs tougher enforcement with safe legal routes to undercut traffickers' business model.
326 people crossed the Channel on Saturday, pushing arrivals since Burnham took office a fortnight ago above 2,000 even as summer weather typically lifts crossing attempts.
Home Office figures show crossings this year are still down about 43% from the same point in 2025; officials also cited nearly 300 arrests and 1,100 boats and engines seized last year.
The renewed push comes after tens of thousands swam into Spain's Ceuta enclave, prompting Burnham to call for regular dialogue with the EU over wider border pressures.
Burnham says the crackdown is relentless—but what evidence would prove this strategy is cutting crossings rather than just shifting routes and tactics?
If most small-boat arrivals claim asylum and many are approved, can tougher border enforcement work without wider safe and legal routes?
Will doubling NCA and French officers finally break the Channel smuggling business, or are gangs already adapting faster than governments can respond?