MP, Leader of the Labour Party
and MP, Labour’s Shadow Home
Secretary, today visited Europol HQ in the Hague to
discuss Labour's plan to crack down on the smuggling gangs
behind the small boat crossings.
Hosted by Catherine De Bolle, Europol's Executive
Director, Starmer met with executive leads from the NCA,
the UK Liaison Bureau at Europol, Europol’s Serious and Organised
Crime Centre, Migrant smuggling team and legal affairs.
The positive and informative discussions centred on the
operational approach to tackling cross border crime, the
challenges the agencies face, and the role the UK government can
play in overcoming them.
The need for greater UK-EU cooperation, including data and
intelligence sharing, specifically the quality of information and
the speed at which it is distributed, were discussed at length.
Starmer emphasised his belief that there is need and room for
greater cooperation in this area. He outlined his plans to see
more real time data sharing between British and European security
forces and his commitment to a UK Labour government working with
Europol to track down criminal gangs.
While visiting Europol HQ Starmer was also briefed by European
police chiefs on current operations to bring organised criminal
gangs to justice. He shared his experience as a former Director
of Public Prosecutions of identifying and removing barriers to
ensure police and justice agencies in the UK and EU are given the
resources needed to improve this vital area of cooperation.
