U.K. Govt unveils new planned curbs on ‘people smugglers’

New UK plan to impose interim orders on suspected smugglers to reduce cross-Channel migrant arrivals.

Suspected U.K. people smugglers could face travel bans and swifter social media and mobile phone curbs, under government plans announced Thursday (January 2, 2025) to reduce cross-Channel migrant arrivals by boat.

The Interior Ministry announced the plan to impose new interim Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPOs) on smugglers before they have been criminally charged, the day after figures showed soaring arrival numbers in 2024.

Around 36,816 people were detected crossing the Channel last year, a 25% increase from the 29,437 who arrived in 2023, according to provisional figures from the ministry.

Currently, imposing SCPOs on criminals, including people smugglers, involves "a complex and lengthy process" that the government said was "restricting the use of this powerful tool".

The planned interim orders — set to be included in draft legislation introduced in parliament in the coming weeks — would allow law enforcement agencies to ask a court to impose immediate restrictions while a full order is considered.

Suspects can be banned from using a laptops or mobile phones, accessing social media networks, associating with certain people, or accessing their finances under the orders.

Breaching an interim order could lead to up to five years in prison, the interior ministry said.