International co-operation on migration critical, Cooper says before G7 meeting

Yvette Cooper will use a meeting of G7 ministers in Italy to seek “critical” co-operation with Britain’s closest partners on migration and people-smuggling.

The Home Secretary said the summit in Avellino would be an “invaluable opportunity to work internationally” to tackle a cross-border network of criminality putting people in danger by facilitating small boat crossings.

The spiralling conflict in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine and the development of artificial intelligence (AI) will also be high on the agenda, the Home Office said.

Ahead of the gathering on Wednesday, which will also be attended by France, Germany, the US, Canada, Japan and the EU, the Home Secretary said: “The perpetrators of the vile trade of migrant smuggling have no concern about the security of national borders or the safety of the people they exploit.

“We have taken decisive action in the UK already, through the formation of our Border Security Command, backed by a recent investment of £75 million and the appointment of its commander.

“This meeting will be an invaluable opportunity to work internationally to crack down on this cross-border network of dangerous criminality.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced he was axing the previous Tory administration’s Rwanda deportation policy as one of his first moves in office.

The Government has since introduced a new border security command, with the aim of rooting out smuggling gangs through the use of counter-terror style tactics and intelligence-sharing with European neighbours.

In September, Sir Keir visited Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni as part of the Government’s attempts to “reset” relations with Europe, and he praised the “remarkable progress” she has overseen in curbing irregular arrivals by sea.

The Labour administration has also expressed interest in Italy’s off-shore processing agreement with Albania, and Sir Keir announced he would put “pragmatism” at the heart of the UK Government’s approach to border control.

More than 25,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far this year.

Provisional Home Office data shows that, as of Tuesday, 25,244 people have made the journey in 2024.

This is 2% higher than this time last year (24,830) but 24% down on the same period in 2022 (33,029).

Government figures suggest the total number of Channel crossings for September (4,192) was the lowest recorded for the month since 2020.