| Border Security Command | |
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| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 7 July 2024; 8 months ago (2024-07-07) |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency | United Kingdom |
| Operations jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
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| Jurisdiction of the Border Security Command | |
| Operational structure | |
| Elected officer responsible | |
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| Child agencies | |
TheBorder Security Command (BSC) is alaw enforcement agency in the United Kingdom to be responsible for coordinating the activities ofImmigration Enforcement,MI5,Border Force and theNational Crime Agency to attempt to tacklesmuggling gangs which facilitateillegal migrant crossings over the English Channel. The first steps towards establishing it was announced in July 2024 by Home SecretaryYvette Cooper to replace theRwanda asylum plan and will be led by the Border Security Commander, who will answer to theHome Secretary.
The command was first proposed by theLabour Party in May 2024 as an alternative to theConservative government's Rwanda asylum plan, with the aim of tackling the ongoing crisis of illegal migrant crossings on theEnglish Channel. After Labour's victory in the2024 general election, the command was launched by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on 7 July 2024.
The Border Security Command was first proposed in a speech byLabour Party leaderKeir Starmer in May 2024.[1] The party planned to create a new border security command if it entered government. The command would be responsible for tackling the ongoing crisis ofillegal migrant crossings on theEnglish Channel by coordinating the activities of government agencies such asMI5 in prosecutingpeople smuggling gangs which facilitateillegal immigration to the United Kingdom.[1][2]
The command was proposed as Labour's alternative to theRwanda asylum plan of the incumbentConservative government, which the party claimed would fail to tackle the migrant crossings across the Channel and criticised as a waste of money.[1][3] The command was further detailed inChange, the Labour Party's manifesto for the2024 general election, as one of its main manifesto commitments.[4] In the manifesto, the party pledged to establish the command withcounter-terrorism powers to enable it to prosecute people smugglers should it enter government.[5] It would be funded by ending the Rwanda asylum plan and reallocating the money pledged for the plan to the command, which the party said would enable it to "pursue, disrupt and arrest those responsible for the vile trade".[6] Starmer said he wanted to raise around £75 million from the defunct plan each year to fund the command.[7]
Following Labour's victory in the 2024 general election and the formation of theStarmer ministry on 5 July, the new Labour government scrapped the Rwanda asylum plan on the day it entered office.[8][9] On 7 July, the newhome secretaryYvette Cooper launched the Border Security Command (BSC) to replace the plan, accompanied by anaudit into the money already granted to theRwandan government through the plan to see if the UK government could take it back, as well as new counter-terrorism legislation which would be drawn up in the coming weeks to tackle illegal immigration.[7][10] The command would be funded by money previously earmarked for the Rwanda plan and would be responsible for coordinating the activities ofImmigration Enforcement, MI5, theBorder Force and theNational Crime Agency in tackling smuggling gangs which facilitate illegal migrant crossings over the English Channel.[11][12] The new office of Border Security Commander was also established, whose remit would be to lead the new command and its members, with the government expecting the appointment of the first officeholder to be made in the coming weeks.[12][13] A team in theHome Office was tasked with setting out the remit of the command, as well as its governance structure and its strategic direction.[12][14]
| Border Security Commander | |
|---|---|
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| Reports to | Home Secretary |
| Appointer | Home Secretary |
| Inaugural holder | Martin Hewitt |
| Formation | 15 September 2024 |
The Border Security Command is led by the Border Security Commander, who answers to the Home Secretary; the office is currently held by Martin Hewitt, who was appointed to the role in September 2024, by the Home Secretary,[11] with an advertised salary of £140,000 to £200,000.[15]
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