UK steps up: 100 intelligence officers to tackle asylum failures

In a bid to increase the return rate of failed asylum claims to levels last seen in 2018, UK PM Sir Keir Starmer’s government is set to recruit 100 specialist intelligence officers and expand the immigration detention estate.

The Home Office announced on August 21 that these new recruits will join the National Crime Agency to tackle and dismantle criminal smuggling networks and curb dangerous small boat crossings in the Channel, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

The plan includes raising bed capacity at two immigration removal centres — Campsfield near Oxford and Haslar in Hampshire — by 290 to accommodate more failed asylum seekers awaiting deportation. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper emphasized the government’s commitment to strengthening border security and ensuring compliance with immigration rules. "By enhancing our enforcement capabilities and increasing returns, we aim to establish a more controlled and efficiently managed system," Cooper stated, highlighting the goal of achieving the highest rate of removals since 2018 within the next six months.

Prior to winning office last month, Starmer had vowed to dismantle gangs involved in smuggling asylum seekers across the Channel, reduce reliance on costly hotel accommodations for migrants, and boost the number of failed asylum seekers being returned to their home countries. To support these goals, the Labour leader proposed creating a “returns unit” within the Home Office, staffed by 1,000 people to expedite the review and return of asylum seekers from countries deemed safe, such as Albania and India. To date, the Home Office has hired 300 individuals for this unit.

Since Starmer's appointment on July 5, the government has organized nine flights to repatriate failed asylum seekers, including what was described as the “largest-ever chartered” flight. Labour has also expressed intentions to negotiate bilateral returns agreements with countries considered safe, including Vietnam, Türkiye, and Kurdistan, as well as to pursue a new returns accord with the EU.

Amid a 9 per cent increase in small boat crossings this year — over 19,200 by August 19 — the Home Office will also intensify enforcement against businesses and individuals hiring irregular migrants. This crackdown will include financial penalties, business closure orders, and potential prosecutions, overseen by Bas Javid, the Home Office’s director-general for immigration enforcement and brother of former Conservative chancellor Sajid Javid.