Keir Starmer has revealed that he would seek an EU-wide returns agreement for asylum seekers who come to Britain, as he vowed to “smash the gangs” behind small boat crossings.
Labour believes that any agreement with Brussels would have to be “quid pro quo”, meaning accepting quotas of migrants from the bloc in return for sending back people who arrive illegally. The system would reportedly work via applications in UK embassies on the continent, and prioritise people with family already in the UK.
In an interview with the Times, Starmer said people smuggling should be treated “on a par” with terrorism.
“My Labour government will be twice as ruthless to smash the gangs and secure British borders,” Starmer said. “These criminal smuggling gangs are growing fat on the government’s failures, while the Tories ramp up empty rhetoric around illegal immigration for cheap headlines.
“The first job of any government is national security – protecting the British people from threats that come from here and overseas.
“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.”
Starmer also insisted he would drop Conservative plans to ban people who cross the Channel from claiming asylum in Britain. He described the government’s approach as unsustainable and said: “We have to process the claims. Those who aren’t entitled to be here should be returned and returned quickly.”
The Labour leader embarked on an international tour on Thursday night to garner global support for Labour’s immigration plans, which is expected to include meetings with Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau.
Starmer and Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, will start with talks at The Hague on Thursday with officials from the EU’s law enforcement agency, Europol, and others about how a future Labour government would tackle people-smuggling supply chains through greater cross-border cooperation.
Starmer will then fly to Montreal for a gathering of centre-left and progressive politicians, where he is expected to meet the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, before a meeting with the French president next week in Paris.
Tackling undocumented immigration will be a key theme of the meetings, at which Starmer will seek to draw on his experience of tackling cross-border smuggling gangs as the UK’s director of public prosecutions. Catherine De Bolle, the executive director of Europol, will be present at the meeting.
In Montreal, Starmer will be talking with centre-left peers about what he sees as key threats to be addressed, including the climate crisis, terrorism, international criminal gangs and people trafficking. He will also talk about the threat from hostile states and the perils faced by democracy, as Labour and other parties of the left grapple with how to offer compelling policies on immigration to voters being tempted by populist alternatives.
Keen to burnish Starmer’s credentials on the world stage as a prime minister in waiting, Labour will say it is better placed for a reset with partners including France as it aims to reach new agreements on issues such as migrant returns.
A Labour source said: “We would also point out the work that Keir Starmer has done previously when it comes to dealing with some of these international cross-border crime issues. For example, when he was director of public prosecutions, when it came to looking at issues of guns and drugs.”
The Élysée Palace in Paris confirmed on Wednesday that Macron would receive Starmer next week in a meeting designed to ensure that France’s “strategic relationship” with Britain is well placed to continue, no matter who wins the next general election in the UK.
“They have not had a formal meeting before, so this will be an opportunity for them to get to know each other,” said a Labour source. Macron is reported to have informed Sunak on the sidelines of the G20 summit that he would be meeting Starmer.
Labour will be hoping for a meeting in the White House with Joe Biden in the coming months. Labour is said to be heavily influenced by “Bidenomics” and the US president’s green subsidy push.
The shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, had a pivotal meeting earlier this year in Washington DC, where she sought advice from Democrats on the problems the Biden administration has had in implementing green subsidies.
