Border Security Command

Border Security Command
Agency overview
Formed7 July 2024; 23 months ago (2024-07-07)
Jurisdictional structure
National agencyUnited Kingdom
Operations jurisdictionUnited Kingdom
Jurisdiction of the Border Security Command
Operational structure
Elected officer responsible
Agency executive
Child agencies
Website
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/border-security-command Edit this at Wikidata

The Border Security Command (BSC) is a law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom to be responsible for coordinating the activities of Immigration Enforcement, MI5, Border Force and the National Crime Agency 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 to replace the Rwanda asylum plan and is now led by the Border Security Commander, who answers to the home secretary.

The command was first proposed by the Labour Party in May 2024 as an alternative to the Conservative government's Rwanda asylum plan, with the aim of tackling the ongoing crisis of illegal migrant crossings on the English Channel. After Labour's victory in the 2024 general election, the command was launched by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on 7 July 2024. In March 2026 it was announced that Martin Hewitt, the first Commander, would step down. He has been replaced by Duncan Capps, who previously ran the operational arm of the BSC as Director Small Boats Operations, on an interim basis.[1]

History

The Border Security Command was first proposed in a speech by Labour Party leader Keir Starmer in May 2024.[2] 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 English Channel by coordinating the activities of government agencies such as MI5 in prosecuting people smuggling gangs that facilitate illegal immigration to the United Kingdom.[2][3]

The command was proposed as Labour's alternative to the Rwanda asylum plan of the incumbent Conservative government, which the party claimed would fail to tackle the migrant crossings across the Channel and criticised as a waste of money.[2][4] The command was further detailed in Change, the Labour Party's manifesto for the 2024 general election, as one of its main manifesto commitments.[5] In the manifesto, the party pledged to establish the command with counter-terrorism powers to enable it to prosecute people smugglers should it enter government.[6] 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".[7] Starmer said he wanted to raise around £75 million from the defunct plan each year to fund the command.[8]

Following Labour's victory in the 2024 general election and the formation of the Starmer ministry on 5 July, the new Labour government scrapped the Rwanda asylum plan on the day it entered office.[9][10] On 7 July, the new home secretary Yvette Cooper launched the Border Security Command (BSC) to replace the plan, accompanied by an audit 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.[8][11] The command would be funded by money previously earmarked for the Rwanda plan and would be responsible for coordinating the activities of Immigration Enforcement, MI5, the Border Force and the National Crime Agency in tackling smuggling gangs which facilitate illegal migrant crossings over the English Channel.[12][13] 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.[13][14] A team in the Home Office was tasked with setting out the remit of the command, as well as its governance structure and its strategic direction.[13][15]

Organisation

Border Security Commander

Border Security Commander
Incumbent
Duncan Capps
since 1 April 2026
Reports toHome Secretary
AppointerHome Secretary
Inaugural holderMartin Hewitt
Formation15 September 2024

The Border Security Command is led by the Border Security Commander, who answers to the Home Secretary; the office is currently held on an interim basis by Duncan Capps, who was appointed to the role in April 2026, by the current Home Secretary.

List of Border Security Commanders
  1. Duncan Capps (interim, April 2026-present)
  2. Martin Hewitt (2024–2026)

See also

References

  1. ^ Dathan, Matt (20 March 2026). "Small boats chief quits amid rising migrant numbers". The Times. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  2. ^ a b c Dathan, Matt (9 May 2024). "Labour will deploy MI5 to combat Channel migrant crisis". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Keir Starmer unveils Labour's plan for a new Border Security Command to tackle the small boats crisis". PolicyMogul. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  4. ^ Markson, Tevye (13 June 2024). "Labour confirms HMRC funding and border-security command in surprise-free manifesto". Civil Service World. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Labour pledges to end over-reliance on migrant workers by linking immigration to skills and to set up new Border Security Command to tackle small boats". Electronic Immigration Network. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Labour manifesto: What they plan to do in government". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  7. ^ Dearden, Lizzie (6 July 2024). "Forget 'stop the boats', Starmer wants to 'smash the gangs' – but will it work?". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  8. ^ a b Baker, Tim (7 July 2024). "Government to divert tens of millions from Rwanda plan to new Border Security Command". Sky News. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Starmer kills off Rwanda plan on first day as PM". The Daily Telegraph. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  10. ^ Francis, Sam (6 July 2024). "Starmer confirms Rwanda deportation plan 'dead'". BBC News. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Cooper sets out plan to tackle small boat crossings". BBC News. 7 July 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  12. ^ Devlin, Kate (7 July 2024). "Home secretary launches new border security squad after scrapping Rishi Sunak's Rwanda plan". The Independent. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  13. ^ a b c "Home Secretary Yvette Cooper launches border security command to tackle small boat gangs". ITV News. 7 July 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  14. ^ Clark, Natasha; Quinn, Chay (7 July 2024). "Home Sec Yvette Cooper launches Border Security Command to 'smash Channel gangs' as leader search begins". LBC News. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  15. ^ Reynolds, Jordan (7 July 2024). "Home Secretary launches new Border Security Command to tackle small boats gangs". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 July 2024.

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