Latest news with #MartinHewitt
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UK to work with allies and social media to tackle people smuggling adverts
The UK has pledged further action with allies and social media platforms to tackle people smuggling adverts online as part of efforts to cut small boat crossings and other illegal migration services. A new agreement made at the UK's Organised Immigration Crime Summit on Tuesday will see the UK, US, Albania, Sweden, Tunisia and Vietnam take more collective action to target criminal gangs advertising illegal migration online, and share more data on the issue. The agreement will also see governments work with social media companies – including Meta, TikTok and X, who were present at the summit – to design out methods being used by criminal gangs to advertise and glorify their people smuggling activities online. The Home Office said 18,000 social media accounts used to sell spaces on small boats have been taken down by the National Crime Agency (NCA) since last July – 10,000 more than the previous year – but that further action is still needed. As part of the new collective action agreement, governments will work with online platforms to help improve detection and moderation tools for identifying content linked to people smuggling. Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt said: 'Criminal gangs are exploiting online platforms to prey on vulnerable people, luring them into dangerous and illegal journeys that undermine our border security. 'This international agreement is a vital step in shutting down their online operations and dismantling their networks across the world. 'These organised crime groups operate across borders, which is why the UK has united with five nations to take decisive action – strengthening intelligence-sharing and taking away platforms that these criminals depend on for their business. 'Under the Government's Plan for Change, we will continue working with global partners to dismantle smuggling networks, bring perpetrators to justice, and protect vulnerable people from falling into their hands.' The summit has also seen nations agree to increased intelligence-sharing, including between law enforcement agencies, while the UK is to lead work on investigating how criminal gangs are using online spaces. Graeme Biggar, director-general of the NCA, said: 'Yesterday we saw law enforcement from over 40 nations come together in a shared endeavour to stop these criminal gangs. 'We have explored challenges, sought solutions, and reinforced our shared commitment to tackling the threat and harm caused by people smuggling. 'International intelligence-sharing and co-operation is absolutely crucial to track criminal activity across borders, allowing us to put a stop to these dangerous criminals, and this summit has ensured that we can build on our work to put a stop to these gangs, protect our borders and save lives.'


The Independent
02-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
UK to work with allies and social media to tackle people smuggling adverts
The UK has pledged further action with allies and social media platforms to tackle people smuggling adverts online as part of efforts to cut small boat crossings and other illegal migration services. A new agreement made at the UK's Organised Immigration Crime Summit on Tuesday will see the UK, US, Albania, Sweden, Tunisia and Vietnam take more collective action to target criminal gangs advertising illegal migration online, and share more data on the issue. The agreement will also see governments work with social media companies – including Meta, TikTok and X, who were present at the summit – to design out methods being used by criminal gangs to advertise and glorify their people smuggling activities online. The Home Office said 18,000 social media accounts used to sell spaces on small boats have been taken down by the National Crime Agency (NCA) since last July – 10,000 more than the previous year – but that further action is still needed. As part of the new collective action agreement, governments will work with online platforms to help improve detection and moderation tools for identifying content linked to people smuggling. Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt said: 'Criminal gangs are exploiting online platforms to prey on vulnerable people, luring them into dangerous and illegal journeys that undermine our border security. 'This international agreement is a vital step in shutting down their online operations and dismantling their networks across the world. 'These organised crime groups operate across borders, which is why the UK has united with five nations to take decisive action – strengthening intelligence-sharing and taking away platforms that these criminals depend on for their business. 'Under the Government's Plan for Change, we will continue working with global partners to dismantle smuggling networks, bring perpetrators to justice, and protect vulnerable people from falling into their hands.' The summit has also seen nations agree to increased intelligence-sharing, including between law enforcement agencies, while the UK is to lead work on investigating how criminal gangs are using online spaces. Graeme Biggar, director-general of the NCA, said: 'Yesterday we saw law enforcement from over 40 nations come together in a shared endeavour to stop these criminal gangs. 'We have explored challenges, sought solutions, and reinforced our shared commitment to tackling the threat and harm caused by people smuggling. 'International intelligence-sharing and co-operation is absolutely crucial to track criminal activity across borders, allowing us to put a stop to these dangerous criminals, and this summit has ensured that we can build on our work to put a stop to these gangs, protect our borders and save lives.'


The Independent
06-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
UK signs ‘road map' with France as Channel crossings continue
The UK has signed a 'road map' agreement with France aimed at bolstering co-operation to tackle people smuggling as small boat crossings continued in the Channel on Thursday. Border security commander Martin Hewitt met French special representative on migration Patrick Stefanini in Paris after Home Office figures showed 210 people arrived in Britain on Wednesday. Migrants wearing life jackets were also brought ashore in Dover, Kent, on Thursday after disembarking from a Border Force boat. The Home Office said the 'road map' agreed by Mr Hewitt and Mr Stefanini identified four top priorities for border control. These were 'disrupting criminal gangs, deterring illegal migrants from taking the dangerous journey, ensuring the effective and prompt return of irregular migrants to source and transit countries, and tackling the root cause' of irregular movement, the department said. The two men set a date for a 'plenary meeting' between British and French representatives due to take place in May as part of the new agreement to strengthen partnership between the two countries on migration. According to latest official figures there have been 3,434 crossings so far this year, up by 15% on the same period in 2024 (2,983), 16% on 2023 (2,953) and 55% compared with 2022 (2,212). The highest number arriving in one day this year so far stands at 592 people who crossed the Channel in 11 boats on March 2. Some 1,378 people have arrived after crossing the Channel in the first five days of the month, data suggests. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security. 'We are delivering real change in our approach through legislation to create new tools, powers, offences and enforcement action which will keep us one step ahead of the people-smuggling gangs.'


Arab News
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Ad campaign launched to dissuade Iraqis from entering UK illegally
London: An advert campaign will be launched in Iraq to dissuade people from traveling illegally to the UK, the BBC reported on Tuesday. Thousands of migrants have made the dangerous journey across the English Channel since 2018, with 592 doing so on Sunday alone, according to the UK Home Office. Many of the trips are facilitated by criminal gangs, and the crossings can often lead to accidents and fatalities. The new campaign will be aimed primarily at people in semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, and will be spread via social media, apps and websites. The Home Office previously launched similar adverts in Albania and Vietnam. One advert featured an image of an upturned dinghy, alongside quotes from people who had previously risked the crossing, including 'the boat was too crowded' and 'people disappeared into the sea.' Another advert quoted a female migrant as saying: 'I was promised a well-paid job. Instead I was a slave.' Home Office Minister Dame Angela Eagle said: 'Ruthless criminal gangs spread dangerous lies on social media to exploit people for money, and we are exposing them using the real stories of their victims.' UK Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt said during a trip to Iraq last week: 'Our international campaign is sending a clear message to prospective migrants that these criminals cannot be trusted.' A spokesperson for the Refugee Council told the BBC that people suffering enough to flee their homes in the first place would be unlikely to be dissuaded by a social media advert campaign. At least 2,716 people have made the trip to the UK across the Channel so far this year, a 20 percent rise from the same period in 2024, according to the Home Office. A total of 36,816 people crossed last year, including more than 2,000 Iraqis.


Telegraph
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Kurdish migrants warned against Channel crossings in UK social media campaign
Kurdish migrants are be to warned not to attempt to cross the Channel to reach the UK in the Home Office's latest social media campaign. The digital adverts warning Iraqi Kurds about the risks of crossing the Channel and cut-throat criminality of the people smuggling gangs follow similar campaigns targeting Albanian and Vietnamese migrants. The UK has struck agreements with the three countries to share intelligence on the gangs and migrant routes and fast-track returns in order to deter crossings. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, signed an agreement with Iraq and Kurdish regional governments before Christmas to deploy National Crime Agency (NCA) officers to Iraq to mount joint operations to arrest and prosecute the kingpins behind the people smuggling gangs based in Baghdad, Erbil and other towns. Iraqi-Kurdish gangs control most of the beaches and camps in northern France, which means the NCA wants to ramp up its operations in the people smugglers' home towns. Martin Hewitt, the Border Security Commander, visited Federal Iraq and the Kurdistan region last week to discuss ongoing cooperation, including increased joint efforts to tackle organised immigration crime. The digital adverts include quotes from real migrants who have attempted the journey to counter misleading claims peddled by criminals to dupe people online. One migrant describes how people crossing the Channel disappeared into the sea, another claims they were promised a well paid job but ended up as a slave and a third described how they feared they would be killed if they tried to escape. Dame Angela Eagle, the border security minister, said: 'Ruthless criminal gangs spread dangerous lies on social media to exploit people for money, and we are exposing them using the real stories of their victims. 'This campaign helps to break the business model of these criminals and protect people from falling victim, securing our borders as part of the government's plan for change. 'No one should be in any doubt that putting your life in the hands of a smuggler is not worth the risk. Too many people have died in the English Channel at the hands of these criminals, and we will stop at nothing to bring them to justice.' It comes as the UK is set to sign a Joint Communiqué on Tuesday with the Vietnamese Government at the third annual UK-Vietnam Migration Dialogue, hosted in Hanoi. It aims to build on joint work to prevent the exploitation of illegal migrants, disrupt criminal gang operations, strengthen intelligence sharing and return those with no right to be in the UK. The Communiqué includes commitments to enable swifter and more effective returns of illegal migrants to Vietnam, who are among the biggest nationalities for Channel crossings, and for the UK Government to continue its communications campaign in Vietnam to tackle migrant smugglers' lies. Mr Hewitt said: 'International partnerships are an essential part of our work to stop criminal gangs operating across borders to exploit vulnerable people. 'By strengthening these relationships and working closely with law enforcement partners across the world, we will bring down these gangs, break their business models, and put a stop to the misery and harm they inflict. 'Communications are an important part of this work, and our international campaign is sending a clear message to prospective migrants that these criminals cannot be trusted.'