Yvette Cooper calls urgent migrant crisis summit as she weighs EU partnership

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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will today lead a summit of ministers and security officials to tackle people-smuggling gangs fuelling the migrant crisis.

Later on Friday, Cooper will chair a meeting at the National Crime Agency (NCA) headquarters in London, where Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Attorney General Lord Hermer will also be present, as well as representatives from the NCA, Border Force and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). They will draw up plans to take down the gangs.

The Home Office has announced that MI5 has a key role to play in tackling the crisis. However, the Home Secretary has turned her attention to the continent, following Labour’s push for a so-called ‘relationship reset’ with Europe and the EU.

Cooper has commissioned an analysis of the gangs, which will be discussed in detail during talks today. One element is a push for closer ties with European agencies such as Europol.

Despite more than 20,000 migrants arriving in Britain in 2024 alone, the Home Secretary has praised the “encouraging progress” in tackling the crisis since Labour came to power.

According to the latest figures, the number of small boat arrivals this year will provisionally amount to 21,977. That is 3 percent more than last year.

The Home Secretary said: “Encouraging progress has been made over the past two months, with significant seizures of boats and equipment in Europe.

“But there is still work to be done and Border Security Command will bring together all relevant agencies to investigate, arrest and prosecute these networks. We will also strengthen our links with key international partners.

“At the same time, we are swiftly deporting those who have no right to stay in the UK, ensuring we have a fair, robust and functioning asylum system where the rules are followed and enforced.”

But the mood in Europe, and particularly in France, could pose a challenge to the Interior Ministry’s plans.

Just a few days ago, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin called for a new treaty between Britain and the EU (all 27 of which are designated as ‘safe’ countries). This treaty would allow asylum seekers in the EU to be resettled in the UK.

He said: “The solution is… to have a treaty that allows the UK and the EU, not just France and the UK, to establish a causal link between asylum applications and the granting of asylum in the UK.

Although Darmanin noted that the fault lay with “criminal smugglers”, he appeared to blame Britain’s inaction in deporting illegal migrants for encouraging the Channel crossing.

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‘People didn’t vote for it to get worse’: Green Party conference gets underway as co-leaders spread Labour message

Co-leaders of the Green Party

The Greens will call on Sir Keir Starmer to give the public a more hopeful message

PA

The Green Party has said it wants to counter “Labour anger” as it kicks off its party conference today, which marks the start of Britain’s “conference season”.

The Greens, who have four MPs, are coming to Manchester this year to call for more spending, higher taxes and a more European approach to public services and environmentalism.

Party Co-leader and Bristol Central MP Carla Denyer said: “As Greenswe oppose Labour’s message of doom and gloom.

“Things can improve quickly, but only if the new government has the courage to invest.”

Denyer said she and her party would urge the government to be “braver and bolder”, including on the budget.

She continued: “The budget at the end of October will set the course for the rest of this Parliament.

“Green MPs do not accept the need for cuts in public spending. On July 4, people did not vote for deterioration. They voted for change, and that is what we as Green MPs offer.”

Co-chair Adrian Ramsay said: “We need to invest in defending public services and protecting our environment. We can do that by changing the tax system and asking the richest people in society to pay a little more.

“These tax changes are modest compared to the standards of many other European countries, which recognise that investment is needed to deliver high-quality public services and a greener economy.”

The Greens have set their sights on a wealth tax for billionaires and multi-millionaires, reforms to capital gains tax and inheritance tax, and a raft of spending increases for health, social care and a national drive to insulate homes.

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