The Prime Minister today (Monday 31 March) announced the
government has returned more than 24,000 individuals with no
right to be in the UK since the General Election – the
highest returns rate for eight years.
Speaking at the Organised Immigration Crime Summit, where
over 40 countries and organisations have come together to agree
new action to smash people-smuggling gangs, the Prime
Minister outlined how the government is finally restoring
order to the immigration system after years of failure.
The continued rise in removals includes a 21% increase in
enforced returns and a 16% increase in foreign national
offenders being removed from the UK since July 5th,
including the 4 biggest returns charter flights in the UK's
history, with a total of more than 850 people on board.
The massive surge in removals followed the government's immediate
action to redeploy staff across the Home Office to work on
policies that deliver results.
At the Summit the Prime Minister set out the approach this
government is taking to finally take on organised immigration
crime – one that moves beyond gimmicks and instead
delivers hard graft, international leadership, and delivers
on working people's priorities for secure borders.
He set out how this is based on giving law enforcement tougher
powers than ever to smash the smuggling gangs, ramping up
removals to record levels, surging illegal working raids to end
the false promise of jobs used by gangs to sell spaces on boats
and leading a renewed international law enforcement effort.
Since taking office the government has reset its approach to
global cooperation, striking new bilateral
agreements with key international partners
including France, Germany, Italy, and Balkan states to
disrupt smuggling networks and accelerate removals.
This is backed by the work of Border Security Commander Martin
Hewitt who has been negotiating new agreements to bring together
international policing, intelligence, and border enforcement
to dismantle organised immigration crime networks at
home and abroad.
This work has already seen arrests of major people smuggling
kingpins through joint investigations with the National Crime
Agency.
Prime Minister said:
“Immigration crime funds the vile people-smuggling gangs that
trade in human misery, breach our borders and threaten
Britain's economic security. This government is taking back
control, doing the hard graft needed to deliver results, working
with our international allies to smash these gangs and secure our
borders.
“We've already removed more than 24,000 people with no right
to be here and we're finally shutting down exploitative
illegal working, dismantling criminal networks,
while forcing people-smuggling gangs out of business.
“For too long, the UK was a soft touch. That ends
now. No more gimmicks, no empty promises, just serious
action for British security.”
With over 40 international partners joining the UK's
call to treat people-smuggling like terrorism, today's
summit marks the beginning of a new global coalition to
take the fight to the criminal gangs at every stage of the
smuggling chain.
This is backed by landmark legislation through the Border
Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, giving new powers
to seize migrants' phones to identify
smugglers, criminalise those who endanger lives at sea,
and ensure every business carries out right-to-work
checks – ending the exploitation of illegal labour for good.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- Between 5 July and 22 March 2025 there were 24,103 returns,
the highest 9 month period compared to any 9-month period since
2017. Prior to this from Jan – Sept 2017, returns were 25,225.
- Of total returns since 5 July 2024:
-
- there were 6,339 enforced returns of people with no legal
right to remain in the UK
- 3,594 were of foreign national offenders (FNOs)
- 6,781 were asylum related returns
- From 5 July 2024 to 22 March 2025 there have been 46 charter
flights for returns to countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and
South America
- The full stats can be seen here.
