00:00Now, gang leaders, corrupt police officers and companies selling small boat equipment could be targeted with sanctions to disrupt people smuggling across the English Channel into the UK.
00:09The first sanctions are part of this new regime and due to come into force tomorrow.
00:14Here's our diplomatic correspondent, Caroline Hawley.
00:17The last government pledged to stop the boats.
00:20This one promises to smash the gangs, but the boats keep coming and the government's looking for new ways to crack down on the business of people smuggling.
00:29Tomorrow, the first sanctions will be imposed under new powers, going after those responsible for bringing people on dangerous, illegal journeys to the UK.
00:38The initial wave is expected to include a couple of dozen names.
00:43More than 20,000 migrants have crossed the Channel since the start of this year, a big increase on the same period 12 months ago, though numbers in 2024 were down from two years earlier.
00:54Among the targets of the first new sanctions will be people supplying the small boats, selling fake passports and facilitating payments, as well as gang leaders.
01:04They'll have any assets here frozen, be banned from travelling to the UK, and it'll be illegal for British businesses to deal with them.
01:12But questions have been asked about how easy sanctions will be to enforce and what impact they'll have.
01:18And they won't be a quick fix.
01:19I would say to the government that enforcement has a role to play.
01:24Sanctions, like those being announced today, have a role to play.
01:28But there are no magic bullets.
01:30And actually, there is no simple solution.
01:32This is a complex issue.
01:34And the government needs to recognise that.
01:36It needs to look at what can be done to support people who are fleeing wars to stay in neighbouring countries.
01:42The government says criminal gangs are preying on the hopes of the vulnerable.
01:46It wants to name and shame those making themselves rich in what is a multi-billion pound global trade that shows no sign of stopping.
01:55Caroline Hawley, BBC News.
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