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Labour's 'ill-thought out' plan to criminalise people smugglers criticised by Sampson
Aug 3, 2025
Immigration Lawyer Ivon Sampson has informed Labour of the "only way" to tackle the small boats crisis, following the Government's latest plan.Speaking to GB News, Sampson said the latest move by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to criminalise the advertisement of Channel crossings is "ill-thought through".FULL STORY HERE.
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0:00
Ivan, what are your thoughts on this sort of latest plan in terms of kind of prosecuting people if they've advertised something to do with getting here illegally via the small boats
0:13
Well, I mean, it's going to be catch me if you can, really. I mean, it seems like another sort of announcement by the government without thinking through carefully how they're actually going to prosecute
0:27
and even the smashing the criminal gangs, it has been a business failure
0:34
and you have to remember that these gangs are not organised as we might think
0:39
because as soon as one is shut down, there'll be another one popping up
0:45
because so long as there's profits to be made in this business
0:49
and as long as there's a flow of customers, you're going to have continued supply
0:54
from the gang members. So I'm afraid they'll be chasing their own tail with regard to stopping it because it just will not happen
1:03
And to be honest, anybody can see that. I can see that straight away
1:08
What about the plan that Yvette Cooper had that if the boat was overloaded by 80 people more than 80 people that she would then you could prosecute the people
1:18
who would put the people on the boat? Well, again, it's about trying to find out who's responsible
1:25
You've got to prosecute the right person, the mind behind the plan
1:32
And they're so far removed from the action on the water that you're just not going to get
1:38
So even if you prosecute, say, the person who's at the Attila doing that
1:44
there'll be somebody above him who will just replace that individual with somebody else
1:49
It's just, again, the Home Office not really thinking through what the practical realities of actually prosecuting
1:57
or using these new powers they want to bring into law. So I think, again, it's ill thought
2:03
again, the only way you're going to stop this terrible trade is to stop the demand
2:12
And the only way you're going to stop the demand if I, as a channel crossing asylum seeker
2:18
know that I going to be removed when I get to the UK If I know that I going to be removed that back to my own country I will not spend thousands of dollars paying these traffickers
2:32
The fact is we're not removing people, we're not sending people back to where they come from
2:37
the failed asylum seekers, and so the trade will continue. Well, also, even if you do catch these people
2:45
and you're going to prosecute them in the UK, A lot of them then get access to legal aid, which once again, then we end up paying for
2:54
And then there's that merry-go-round of a failed appeal and then again and again and again
3:01
Yes. And also, if we do put them in prison, we've got to pay for that privilege
3:06
So and we've already got overcrowded prisons as it is. So, no, that's not I don't think it's a successful policy
3:13
It's not going to work. The stop the boats policy didn't work
3:18
The smash the gang policy didn't work. Making it illegal to cross the UK, you'll remember Priti Patel, that didn't work
3:26
So the only way they can do that is to have an agreement, an EU-wide agreement
3:31
with all the countries linked back to where people come from to have an international treaty where people are removed back to their homeland That is the only thing that going to work Not even selling to France will work because
3:44
all you'll have is the French then overloaded with asylum seekers. People have to be returned
3:49
to their home country. Nothing else is going to work. What is stopping that from happening then? Because if everyone can see that is quite
3:58
clear, what is stopping that particular thing from working? Well, the reason we had the Rwanda plan, because we couldn't return people with countries we don't have a returns agreement with
4:14
That is a problem. So take, for example, let's just take, for example, Yemen
4:19
No returns agreement. Afghanistan, no returns agreement. Take Syria, no returns agreement
4:26
So as soon as you get here as a Syrian national or Afghan national, we cannot
4:31
We cannot return them to anywhere. So you remember the Supreme Court didn't actually make the policy unlawful
4:39
What it said was not Rwanda. So I think there needs to be some some agreements where we can return people to other countries that the courts will be happy with
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