Gang leaders, corrupt officials and companies supplying small boats will be publicly named on Wednesday as Britain launches the world’s first sanctions regime specifically targeting people-smuggling networks.
Dozens of individuals and entities are expected to face asset freezes, travel bans and restrictions from engaging with the UK’s financial system under measures central to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to “smash” the criminal gangs behind Channel crossings. The sanctions will target ringleaders, financial middlemen and businesses involved in the multi-billion-pound industry wherever they operate globally.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the regime was “the first of its kind anywhere on the planet” and represented a decisive break from accepting the “status quo” where criminal gangs prey on “vulnerable people with impunity.” Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he declared: “We are leading, others will follow.
Record Crossings Fuel Pressure
The announcement comes as the government faces mounting pressure over small boat arrivals, which have reached record levels in 2025. More than 20,000 people crossed the Channel in the first six months of this year, an increase of nearly 50% on the same period in 2024.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the new sanctions as a “decisive step in our fight against the criminal gangs who profit from human misery.” She said: “It will allow us to target the assets and operations of people-smugglers wherever they operate, cutting off their funding and dismantling their networks piece by piece.
The measures will target those supplying small boats, fake documents and financial services used by smuggling networks. This includes “middlemen” who push money through Hawala networks, an informal but legal money transfer system often exploited by smugglers.
Scepticism Over Impact
However, experts have questioned whether the sanctions will significantly deter crossings. Dr Madeleine Sumption, deputy chair of the Migration Advisory Committee, said she would be “surprised” if the measures were a “game changer for the industry as a whole.”
There are so many people involved in the industry that targeting people individually is probably only going to have an impact around the margins,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. She added that effectiveness would depend “to an extent on the co-operation of other countries where smugglers are operating.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp dismissed the sanctions as inadequate, stating during an urgent question in the Commons on Monday that illegal entries were causing a “public safety crisis” for women and girls. In a separate statement, he said: “The truth is you don’t stop the Channel crossings by freezing a few bank accounts in Baghdad or slapping a travel ban on a dinghy dealer in Damascus.
Essex Tensions Highlight Crisis
The announcement follows violent protests outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping, Essex, at the weekend. More than 100 demonstrators gathered on Sunday evening, with some chanting “save our kids” and “send them home.” The protest escalated into what police called “mindless thuggery” after flares and bottles were thrown at officers.
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow of Essex Police said: “Disappointingly we have seen yet another protest, which begun peacefully, escalate into mindless thuggery with individuals again hurting one of our officers and damaging a police vehicle. For anyone who thinks we will tolerate their thuggery – think again.”
Six people were arrested, including a 17-year-old on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a police car. The demonstrations began after a 38-year-old asylum seeker was charged with sexual assault following an incident where he allegedly attempted to kiss a 14-year-old girl.
Civil Disobedience Warning
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the protesters as “genuinely concerned families” and warned that parts of the country are “close… to civil disobedience on a vast scale.” His comments came as tensions over asylum accommodation continue to rise across the UK.
Epping Forest District Council has long opposed using the Bell Hotel for asylum seekers. Council Leader Chris Whitbread said: “We have consistently shared concerns with the Home Office that the Bell Hotel is an entirely unsuitable location for this facility and should close.
France Deal Implementation
The sanctions come as details emerge about Sir Keir’s recent “one in, one out” deal with France. Announced during French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit earlier this month, the pilot scheme will see migrants arriving via small boat promptly sent back to France in exchange for Britain accepting asylum seekers with family connections to the UK.
The Prime Minister said those returned would be “detained and returned to France in short order,” with replacement arrivals coming “via a safe route: controlled and legal, subject to strict security checks and only open to those who have not tried to enter the UK illegally.”
Initial reports suggest the pilot will involve up to 50 returns per week, though Downing Street has not confirmed specific numbers. The scheme faces scepticism from both sides of the Channel, with French officials expressing concern about becoming a “return hub” for migrants.
Broader Strategy
Ministers say the sanctions complement other measures including enhanced border surveillance and increased law enforcement cooperation with France and other countries. The government is also implementing a nationwide crackdown on illegal working, which Sir Keir described as being on a “completely unprecedented scale.
Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said sanctions “may help disrupt some of the criminal networks profiting from human misery,” but warned that “enforcement alone will not stop dangerous Channel crossings” without safe alternatives for asylum seekers.
The sanctions were first outlined by Lammy in January and will work alongside powers in the Border, Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is still making its way through Parliament. The bill will introduce new criminal offences and hand counter-terror-style powers to police and enforcement agencies.
International Cooperation
While the regime will be autonomous, the Foreign Office expects to collaborate closely with international allies. This builds on months of work including the UK-hosted European Political Community in July, hosting the Calais Group bringing together ministers from France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and improved working with countries including Moldova, Iraq and Vietnam on returns.
The UK’s approach mirrors but exceeds measures taken by other nations. The European Union operates sanctions against human traffickers but not specifically targeting Channel crossings. The United States has financial sanctions against smuggling networks on its southern border but lacks the comprehensive approach Britain is implementing.
As the first wave of sanctions comes into force on Wednesday, with recipients publicly named, it will become illegal for UK businesses and banks to deal with those designated. More than 20 individuals and entities are expected to be targeted initially, potentially including corrupt public officials and police officers.
The government acknowledges that British authorities can only freeze assets within the United Kingdom, limiting impact on smugglers based elsewhere. However, officials believe the reputational damage and operational disruption will extend beyond direct financial impacts.
With more than 37,000 people crossing the Channel in 2024 and the 2025 figure already exceeding 22,000, the pressure on Sir Keir to deliver on his election pledge to tackle illegal migration continues to mount. Whether these world-first sanctions prove effective in disrupting the lucrative smuggling trade remains to be seen.
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Image Credit:
Calais 2015 – Photo by Voice of America, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
