(Normanton, Pontefract and
Castleford) (Lab): The Home Secretary also knows that the policy
will not work. We need action to tackle dangerous criminal gangs
who are putting lives at risk, and she knows that her policies
will not achieve that. That is not their objective. If it was,
she would not have asked the National Crime
Agency whose job it is to target the criminal
gangs, to draw up 20% staff cuts—that is potentially 1,000 people
being cut from the organisation that works to tackle the gangs.
Can she confirm whether she has asked the NCA to
draw up plans for staff cuts?
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (): The right hon. Lady
raises a number of points that are factually incorrect.
[Interruption.] I will come to the hon. Member for Cumbernauld,
Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East shortly. The purpose of the work
that we are doing is to absolutely break the business model of
the people smugglers. It is a shame that Opposition Members run
down the National Crime
Agency
Hon. Members
You are running it down!
Calm down a second. Actually the UK intelligence community are
working together to tackle the people smugglers upstream, and we
are investing in upstream programmes to tackle the people
smugglers...
(Eltham)
(Lab): Yesterday, 444 people made the dangerous crossing in
small boats, which suggests that the deterrent effect of this
policy is not getting through. That is the highest number in two
months, since 681 crossed the day after the Home Secretary
announced this policy. Does that not suggest that this is not the
time for her to be cutting the National Crime
Agency Do we not need a bit of joined-up thinking
on dealing with this situation and the illegal traffickers?
: This is also not the time
to sit on our hands and do nothing. The Government are determined
to address these issues and work with all our
agencies—intelligence agencies, crime agencies and law
enforcement agencies—to go after the people smugglers, which,
quite frankly, seems to be a policy the Labour party does not
support...
(Westminster North)
(Lab): How does cutting the National Crime
Agency by 20% deter people smugglers?
: This is a new line of
attack from the Opposition. I am not making cuts to the
National Crime Agency—let me be clear about
that. I am resourcing it. Labour might have forgotten that we
have the Russia-Ukraine crisis under way right now. The work that
we have brought forward with the National Crime
Agency on the kleptocracy cell, the resources that
have gone into enforcing sanctions and working with the Office of
Financial Sanctions Implementation is all the work of
the National Crime
Agency where we have given it resource and
empowered it to go after the people who do harm to our country.
Yet again, the Labour party has not supported that...
