(Lab):...As I understand it,
there is some debate about whether the number of officers,
officials and National Crime
Agency staff working on this has gone up or down.
Can we have an indication of the number of them involved in
tackling this? My amendment deals with the National Crime
Agency Can the Government confirm that it is the
law enforcement agency that is leading all this work? What other
agencies, both national and international, are working to tackle
the criminal gangs? My amendment says that to tackle organised
immigration crime across the channel, there is a need to maintain
a specific unit. Is a specific unit already in existence, making
my amendment unnecessary? If not, would that help?
(CB): My Lords, I rise to
speak briefly, but I hope strongly, to support Amendment 139FB
tabled by the noble Lord, . This amendment is incredibly
simple and yet, it seems, immensely powerful. It gives
the National Crime
Agency a legal responsibility to tackle organised
immigration crime across the channel and to maintain the specific
unit to undertake work related to that responsibility...
The Advocate-General for Scotland ( of Dirleton)
(Con):...Amendments 136 and 139FB, tabled by the noble Baroness,
Lady Hamwee, and the noble Lord, , focus on tackling people
smuggling. Amendment 136 calls for a report on the actions being
taken to tackle people smuggling, while Amendment 139FB seeks to
confer on the National Crime
Agency a specific function in respect of tackling
organised immigration crime. A variety of noble Lords have spoken
to those points and, again, I shall refer to them in more detail
as they arise...
...I have an example for the Committee. In a single operation
last summer, the National Crime
Agency worked with French, Belgian, German and Dutch
partners to target an organised crime gang suspected of smuggling
up to 10,000 people across the channel over a period of 12 to 18
months. In total, the operation saw around 40 people being
arrested, and 135 boats, 45 engines and more than 1,200 life
jackets being seized...
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Migration and
Borders () (Con):...The
Government collaborate with law enforcement and criminal justice
agencies, including the police, the National Crime
Agency the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority,
the Crown Prosecution Service and His Majesty’s Revenue and
Customs to ensure that policy and legislation are incorporated
into operational policy and practice, to target and disrupt
crimes and bring perpetrators to justice. In addition, the Home
Office has continued to invest in policing to improve the
national response to modern slavery and human trafficking by
providing £17.8 million since 2016 to support the work of the
Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime unit, about which
we heard in the previous group...
The :...I particularly
appreciate when we come to this that the Government are taking
action—I am not suggesting for a moment that they are not. The
Chişinău statement made in Moldova recently by the Prime Minister
was striking, as were the recent raids by the National Crime
Agency in tackling criminals involved in this area...
For context, OPEN HERE
