Will Basu head taskforce to stop people smugglers using boats?

Basu previously advocated for addressing the small boats issue with a comprehensive strategy similar to that used in counterterrorism

• Eastern Eye
• 10 July, 2024

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By: Eastern Eye

THE former counter-terrorism head, Neil Basu (right), is the leading candidate to oversee Labour’s new border security command, aimed at reducing migrant crossings in the Channel.

Basu’s extensive counterterrorism experience, including his leadership during the peak threat from Daesh (Islamic State), with six terror attacks – including the Manchester Arena bombing – makes him a top contender for this role, the Times reported on Tuesday (9).

In Sir Keir Starmer’s upcoming King’s speech, new counterterrorism-style laws will be introduced to impose travel bans on suspected people smugglers, reports said.

The legislation aims to empower the police, Border Force, and intelligence officers within the new Border Security Command to handle people smugglers with the same severity as terrorists.

The proposed border security bill will authorise officers and investigators to apply serious crime prevention orders to suspected people smugglers. They will allow law enforcement to enforce stringent conditions on the suspects’ travel within the UK and abroad, as well as restrict their access to the internet and banking services.

Basu previously advocated for addressing the small boats issue with a comprehensive strategy similar to that used in counterterrorism. He has criticised the Rwanda scheme as an ineffective and costly solution, suggesting instead a new border security command with extensive ministerial oversight, additional investigators, and coordinated efforts from all relevant agencies.

“I led counter-terrorism policing for over six years. It’s a model of close partnership with intelligence agencies, government and multiple partners, all of whom have clear lines of responsibility and accountability for their single mission – to protect lives. It needed to be studied as a model response to this crisis,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

Basu was overlooked by the previous government for leadership roles at both the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Metropolitan Police.

Another possible candidate is David Neal, a former soldier who served as the chief inspector of borders and immigration.

In one of his first acts as prime minister, Sir Keir declared the plan to send migrants to Rwanda as “dead and buried.” Labour announced that thousands of people previously in limbo could now make asylum claims.

The prime minister’s spokesman on Monday (8) confirmed that migrants arriving by small boats would have the right to claim asylum, stressing the need for efficient processing to avoid costly, long-term housing.

Reports said home secretary Yvette Cooper has already initiated the recruitment process for the new border security commander. She is establishing the new Border Security Command and a returns and enforcement unit with 1,000 additional staff.