UK launches first sanctions in new strategy to deter migrant crossings
In what it called a "landmark" first use of new powers, the move came as the government faces political pressure to stem migrant arrivals on small boats from northern France, at record levels.
The asset freezes and travel bans announced target individuals and entities "driving irregular migration to the UK", and include four "gangs" and "gangland bosses" operating in the Balkans, the Foreign Office said.
They also hit a small boat supplier in China, so-called "hawala" money movers in the Middle East, and seven alleged people-smugglers linked to Iraq.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy called it "a landmark moment in the government's work to tackle organised immigration crime" impacting the UK.
"From Europe to Asia we are taking the fight to the people-smugglers who enable irregular migration, targeting them wherever they are in the world," he added. 
"My message to the gangs who callously risk vulnerable lives for profit is this: we know who you are, and we will work with our partners around the world to hold you to account."
- 'Terrorising refugees' -
Prime Minister Keir Starmer took office a year ago promising to curb the journeys by "smashing the gangs" that facilitate the crossings, but he has struggled to deliver.
Nearly 24,000 migrants have made the perilous journey across the Channel so far in 2025, the highest ever tally at this point in a year.
The issue has become politically perilous in the UK, blamed for helping to fuel the rise of the far-right and violence at anti-migrant demonstrations.
Protests have erupted sporadically outside hotels believed to house asylum-seekers, with a recent demonstration outside one in Epping, east of London, descending into clashes that injured eight police officers.
Riots sparked by the stabbing to death of three young girls in northwestern Southport a year ago also saw suspected asylum-seeker hotels attacked and anti-migrant sentiment on display.
As part of its strategy to curb new arrivals, the government is also cracking down on illegal working, which European neighbours cite as a "pull factor" for UK-bound migrants.
It announced late Tuesday a new agreement with delivery firms Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats which includes sharing the locations of asylum hotels to help tackle illegal working.
Meanwhile in another new tactic, artificial intelligence technology will be trialled to assess disputed ages of asylum-seekers who claim to be children, the interior ministry said Tuesday.
- 'Far-fetched' -
Wednesday's designations represent the UK's first use of its new "Global Irregular Migration Sanctions Regime".
It claims the regime is a "world first", empowering the Foreign Office to target foreign financiers and companies as well as individuals allegedly involved in facilitating people-smuggling to the UK.
In all, it sanctioned 20 individuals, four gangs -- two Balkan groups and two of North African origin operating in the Balkans -- and Chinese firm Weihai Yamar Outdoor Product Co.
It has advertised its small boats online "explicitly for the purpose of people-smuggling," the Foreign Office said.
Among those facing curbs was Bledar Lala, described as an Albanian controlling "the 'Belgium operations' of an organised criminal group" involved in the crossings.
The UK also targeted Alen Basil, a former police translator it accused of now leading a large smuggling network in Serbia, "terrorising refugees, with the aid of corrupt policemen".
London hit alleged "gangland boss" Mohammed Tetwani with sanctions, noting he was dubbed the "King of Horgos" over his brutal running of a migrant camp in the Serbian town Horgos.
Author and researcher Tom Keatinge, of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said the sanctions were "a new front in the UK's efforts to control a business model that brings profit to the enablers" and misery to victims.
"However, I would caution against overpromising," he told AFP. "Talk of freezing assets and using sanctions to 'smash the gangs' seems far-fetched and remains to be seen.
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While the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership involves the US, UK and Australia, the treaty is between the latter two nations, as a Pentagon review into the agreement threatens America's future participation. Australia and the UK are expected to lay out the bilateral aspects of the agreement and explore ways the two countries can work together over the next half-century. In a joint statement, Mr Marles and Senator Wong said the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations, or AUKMIN, were critical to the two nations' shared interests. "We take the world as it is - but together, we are working to shape it for the better," Senator Wong said. Under the $368 billion AUKUS program, Australia will buy at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. A new class of nuclear submarines will be built in Adelaide and delivered in the 2040s. 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The UK was probably third behind Japan and the US in terms of how strategically significant the defence relationship was to Australia, Dr Bristow said. Meanwhile, the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales, arrived in Darwin on Wednesday in the midst of the Talisman Sabre multi-nation military exercises being hosted by Australia. It's the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997. The international task group includes five core ships, 24 jets and 17 helicopters, centred on the flagship aircraft carrier. On Sunday, Mr Marles and Senator Wong will join their counterparts in Darwin to observe the UK Carrier Strike Group in action at Talisman Sabre. UK High Commissioner to Australia Sarah MacIntosh said the arrival of the strike group was a demonstration of commitment to the region and the strong relationship with Canberra. "This is an anchor relationship in a contested world," she said. 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While the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership involves the US, UK and Australia, the treaty is between the latter two nations, as a Pentagon review into the agreement threatens America's future participation. Australia and the UK are expected to lay out the bilateral aspects of the agreement and explore ways the two countries can work together over the next half-century. In a joint statement, Mr Marles and Senator Wong said the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations, or AUKMIN, were critical to the two nations' shared interests. "We take the world as it is - but together, we are working to shape it for the better," Senator Wong said. Under the $368 billion AUKUS program, Australia will buy at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. A new class of nuclear submarines will be built in Adelaide and delivered in the 2040s. The US had promised to sell Australia nuclear-powered attack submarines under the AUKUS agreement, but President Donald Trump's administration has launched a review into the deal to examine whether it aligns with his "America first" agenda. Defence analysts believe a likely outcome of the US review will be a request for more money from Australia to support its submarine industrial base. The Australian government has said it remains confident in the nuclear-submarine deal being delivered. The UK has fast become one of Australia's most important defence allies amid turmoil under the Trump administration, a security analyst says. Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Alex Bristow said holding ministerial meetings on a six-monthly cycle, rather than the traditional annual timeline, highlights strengthened ties between the two nations. "The tempo of it increasing, I think, is a signal that Britain is moving into an elite category," he told AAP. The UK was probably third behind Japan and the US in terms of how strategically significant the defence relationship was to Australia, Dr Bristow said. Meanwhile, the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales, arrived in Darwin on Wednesday in the midst of the Talisman Sabre multi-nation military exercises being hosted by Australia. It's the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997. The international task group includes five core ships, 24 jets and 17 helicopters, centred on the flagship aircraft carrier. On Sunday, Mr Marles and Senator Wong will join their counterparts in Darwin to observe the UK Carrier Strike Group in action at Talisman Sabre. UK High Commissioner to Australia Sarah MacIntosh said the arrival of the strike group was a demonstration of commitment to the region and the strong relationship with Canberra. "This is an anchor relationship in a contested world," she said. Dr Bristow said Australia should be welcoming carrier strike groups from European countries. He said NATO had identified China as a threat to its interests as Beijing continues to collaborate with Russia and North Korea. "It's entirely in the interests of European allies in NATO to be working with Indo-Pacific allies," Dr Bristow said. with PA
