Boris Johnson pledged to “ruthlessly” crack down on people smugglers amid fears that the number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats will be higher than last year.
He described people traffickers as thugs and gangsters who risked lives to exploit the growing demand in illegal immigration to the UK.
Speaking during a visit to Stoke-on-Trent, the prime minister said it was outrageous that lives were being put at risk each day by criminals smuggling people in “unseaworthy vessels”.
He confirmed plans to increase the maximum sentence for assisting illegal immigration from 14 years to life, as revealed by The Times.
This year 531 known migrants have already reached UK waters in small boats, almost double the number for the same period in
