The prime minister promised to smash the gangs.
Keir Starmer repeatedly promised to ‘smash the gangs’ (Image: Getty)
Keir Starmer has been dealt a fresh blow as TalkTV aired a bombshell update on the ongoing migrant crisis. TalkTV presenter Kevin O’Sullivan announced that a high-profile people smuggler believed to be behind thousands of small boat crossings has been arrested. However, the arrest was made due to a BBC investigation and not the UK government. O’Sullivan said: “Breaking news, a high-profile people smuggler, identified in a BBC investigation, has been arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan.
“A network run by Kardo Jaf, who operates under the alias Kardo Ranya, is believed to have transported thousands of illegal migrants in small boats across the English Channel into the UK in recent years. He was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking offences by officers of the Kurdistan Regional Security Agency and remains in custody as investigations continue.”
The presenter acknowledged that the update is positive, however, pointed out that the prime minister had nothing to do with it.
“I thought we had a government that was going to ‘smash the gangs’? What’s the government doing about this? What are the police doing about police smuggling?” he asked, adding: “Not the police, not the government. ‘Smash the gangs’, he couldn’t smash an egg old Keir Starmer.”
Jaf, 28, had operated for several years under a number of aliases, making it increasingly difficult for law enforcement agencies to issue an international arrest warrant.
When he was confronted by the BBC with the allegations, Jaf denied being a smuggler and said he had only ever advised people on how to leave Iraq, adding he did not believe he had committed an offence.
The UK’s National Crime Agency’s Director General of Operations Rob Jones said the case was a “potentially very significant arrest of an individual who has been under active investigation by numerous law enforcement agencies because of his links to people smuggling”.
It comes after French leaders admitted the new £660m UK-funded deal will make little difference, saying they have “no solution” to stop migrant boat crossings.
Officials responsible for the Channel coastline have openly criticised the £662 million agreement signed at the end of April, which aims to deploy at least 50 riot-trained officers on beaches and boost security.
Alain Boonefaes, deputy mayor in charge of security in Gravelines, told La Voix Du Nord: “The money of the British will be used to secure a sector but we only move the pile of sand. It starts from everywhere. It is a subject that must be dealt with at the global level. We have no solution. There will always be an influx of people who want to join the UK.”