The Border Security Command (BSC) is a

law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...

in the United Kingdom to be responsible for coordinating the activities of

Immigration Enforcement Immigration Enforcement (IE) is a law enforcement command within the Home Office, responsible for enforcing immigration law across the United Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunct UK Border Agency from its establishment in 2008 unti ...

MI5 MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...

Border Force Border Force (BF) is a British law enforcement command within the Home Office, responsible for frontline border control operations at air, sea and rail ports in the United Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunct UK Border Agency from i ...

and the

National Crime Agency The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a Law enforcement agency#natlea, national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; Human trafficking, human, Arms trafficking, weapon and Illegal drug t ...

to attempt to tackle smuggling gangs which facilitate illegal migrant crossings over the English Channel. The first steps towards establishing it was announced in July 2024 by Home Secretary

Yvette Cooper Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician who has served as Home Secretary since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, Cooper has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member of parliament (MP) for Po ...

to replace the Rwanda asylum plan and will be led by the Border Security Commander, who will answer to the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

. The command was first proposed by the Labour Party in May 2024 as an alternative to the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

government's Rwanda asylum plan, with the aim of tackling the ongoing crisis of illegal migrant crossings on the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. After Labour's victory in the 2024 general election, the command was launched by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on 7 July 2024.

History

The Border Security Command was first proposed in a speech by Labour Party leader

Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...

in May 2024. The party planned to create a new border security command if it entered government. The command would be responsible for tackling the ongoing crisis of illegal migrant crossings on the

by coordinating the activities of government agencies such as

in prosecuting people smuggling gangs which facilitate

illegal immigration to the United Kingdom It is difficult to measure how many people reside in the UK without authorisation, although a Home Office study based on Census 2001 data released in March 2005 estimated a population of between 310,000 and 570,000. The methods used to arrive at ...

. The command was proposed as Labour's alternative to the Rwanda asylum plan of the incumbent

government, which the party claimed would fail to tackle the migrant crossings across the Channel and criticised as a waste of money. The command was further detailed in ''

Change Change, Changed or Changing may refer to the below. Other forms are listed at Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of t ...

'', the Labour Party's manifesto for the 2024 general election, as one of its main manifesto commitments. In the manifesto, the party pledged to establish the command with

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...

powers to enable it to prosecute people smugglers should it enter government. 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". Starmer said he wanted to raise around £75 million from the defunct plan each year to fund the command. Following Labour's victory in the 2024 general election and the formation of the

Starmer ministry The Starmer ministry began on 5 July 2024 when Keir Starmer was invited by King Charles III to form a government, following the resignation of Rishi Sunak after the 2024 United Kingdom general election, 2024 general election. Background Star ...

on 5 July, the new Labour government scrapped the Rwanda asylum plan on the day it entered office. On 7 July, the new

home secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

launched the Border Security Command (BSC) to replace the plan, accompanied by an

audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...

into the money already granted to the Rwandan 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. The command would be funded by money previously earmarked for the Rwanda plan and would be responsible for coordinating the activities of

, MI5, the

and the

in tackling smuggling gangs which facilitate illegal migrant crossings over the English Channel. 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. A team in the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

was tasked with setting out the remit of the command, as well as its governance structure and its strategic direction.

Organisation

Border Security Commander

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, with an advertised salary of £140,000 to £200,000. ;List of Border Security Commanders # Martin Hewitt (2024–present)

References

External links

GOV.UK announcement of the command's launch
{{Keir Starmer 2024 in British politics Home Office (United Kingdom) Immigration to the United Kingdom 2024 establishments in the United Kingdom Government agencies established in 2024 Premiership of Keir Starmer

History

Organisation

Border Security Commander

See also

References

External links