British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called on the international community to unite “to stamp out the networks of smugglers once and for all“, opening the proceedings of a summit in London on tackling illegal migration involving around 40 countries.

This problem is one of the priorities of the Labour government. More than 157,000 migrants have entered the UK illegally in the last seven years by crossing the Channel in small boats. A record number of entries were recorded in the first three months of the year, with more than 6,600 people managing to complete the dangerous crossing.

“We will not be able to eliminate the networks of traffickers once and for all unless we work together” because these networks “exploit the gaps between our institutions, turning countries against each other,” the British prime minister said.

Some 40 countries are represented at the conference, which is being held under the auspices of British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

France’s Interior Minister Bruneau-Retail and his German counterpart Nancy Fezer are present, as are representatives from countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North America.

“I do not believe it is impossible to attack organized crime linked to migration. We need to combine our resources, share information and tactics, and fight the problem with prevention every step of the way, from North Africa and the Middle East to the point of entry,” said Kir Starmer.

Germany’s interior minister believes the London summit sends a clear message to traffickers’ networks, calling on the international community “to put an end to their barbaric trade.”

The work of the summit will take place today and tomorrow with the participation of countries from which migrants depart, such as Vietnam, Iraq, transit countries such as the Balkan countries, representatives of Interpol, Europol, the head of the Border Force of the British Home Office, the agency in charge of controlling the UK‘s borders.

It follows talks in December between Yvette Cooper and her counterparts from Belgium, Germany, France and the Netherlands during which the five countries signed an action plan to strengthen their cooperation.

The conference comes as the European Union plans to set up migrant centers outside its borders to speed up deportations of foreign nationals who lack residence permits.

According to the British Home Office, ministers will discuss equipment, infrastructure and the issue of forged documents used by criminal organisations to secure the illegal entry of migrants.

They will also discuss the issue of network operation and seek to secure a global consensus on combating online recruitment of migrants with the cooperation of representatives of technology giants such as Meta or TikTok.

London recently ran an online advertising campaign in Iraq to discourage the departure of migrants. It is doing the same for Vietnam on the Zalo platform.

The British also want to come to terms with China to stop the export of motors and other parts that equip smugglers’ boats crossing the English Channel.

Just like other European leaders, Kir Starmer is under pressure in the face of the rise of Nigel Farage‘s Reform UK party, which garnered about four million votes in July’s general election.

The Labour government has tabled a bill that would give police forces powers to combat migrant trafficking networks equivalent to those available to them to combat terrorism.

In February, the Starmer government tightened the rules for obtaining citizenship to make it virtually impossible for people who entered the UK illegally. It also announced tougher rules to combat illegal work.