Germany will close a legal loophole that has allowed the country to become a hub for Channel migrant boats.
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, signed a landmark deal with Berlin on Monday under which it agreed to introduce a law that will criminalise facilitating the smuggling of migrants to Britain.
Such activities are not currently illegal, which has hindered efforts to stop people smugglers transporting boats, engines and migrants to Germany for storage after their manufacture in Turkey before they are then sent on to the north French coast to carry people across the Channel.
More than 34,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, of which 20,399 arrived since Labour came into power in July. The figure marks a 12 per cent increase on 2023 but is down on the record year of 2022.
The agreement, which also commits both countries to sharing intelligence and joint operations, comes ahead of a Calais group meeting between ministers from France, Belgium and the Netherlands to discuss measures to tackle the migration crisis.
Ms Cooper said: “Germany is already a key partner in our efforts to crack down on migrant smuggling but there is always more we can do together.
“Our new Joint Action Plan will deliver a strengthened partnership with Germany, boosting our respective border security as we work to fix the foundations and ultimately saving lives.”
Nancy Faeser, the German interior minister, said: “By cramming people into inflatable boats under threats of violence, these organisations put human lives at risk.
“Many of these crimes are planned in Germany. Together, we are now countering this unscrupulous business with even more resolve.
“This includes maintaining a high investigative pressure, exchanging information between our security authorities as best as possible and persistently investigating financial flows to identify the criminals operating behind the scenes.”
German police and the UK’s National Crime Agency search a facility used to house boats and equipment allegedly for Channel crossings – NCA
Earlier this month, the UK, France and Germany conducted an investigation into a people smuggling network – NCA
Under German law, it is not an offence for migrants to be smuggled through Germany to a nation outside the EU, which now includes Britain after Brexit. Nor is it illegal for boats that will be used to cross the Channel to be stored in Germany, although this will become a criminal offence.
The Home Office said this would give German prosecutors more tools to tackle the supply and storage of dangerous small boat equipment, and allow the UK and Germany to better counter the continually evolving tactics of people smuggling gangs.
It is the first agreement of its kind between the UK and Germany.
The pact also commits the two countries to exchanging expertise, with a focus on removing people smuggler adverts from social media, operating more closely with Europol to target end-to-end smuggling networks and working “upstream” to disrupt the gangs’ supply lines.