Failure to bring order to borders is eroding the public’s confidence in politicians, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will warn today.
Hosting a summit of European interior ministers in London to discuss migration routes through the western Balkans, Ms Mahmood is expected to call for stronger international cooperation to tackle illegal migration.
She will tell her counterparts that governments are losing the trust of voters who expect them to control their borders, saying: ‘The public rightly expect their government to decide who can enter their country and who must leave.
‘Today, in this country – and I know in many of yours – that is not the case.
‘The failure to bring order to our borders is eroding trust not just in us as political leaders, but in the credibility of the state itself.’
The meeting brings together ministers from across the western Balkans – including North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo – alongside other European allies.
The aim is to secure new agreements to disrupt smuggling gangs and prevent illegal migration.
The failure to bring order to Europe’s borders is undermining public confidence in politicians and even the idea of the nation state, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will warn today
According to the Home Office, around 22,000 people were smuggled through the region by criminal gangs in 2024, as the Balkans increasingly became a key transit route for both people and drugs.
Ms Mahmood will also use the event to criticise Nigel Farage and Reform UK, accusing them of wanting to ‘turn inwards’ rather than work with international partners.
‘Illegal migration is a shared threat that demands a united international response,’ she will say.
‘To those who believe the answer is to withdraw or reject cooperation, I say that by coming together, we make all our borders – and our countries – stronger.’
The National Crime Agency’s director general, Graeme Biggar, will attend the summit to discuss how to dismantle the criminal networks behind people smuggling and trafficking.
Ministers will also hold a session on tackling violence against women and girls.
The Conservatives accused Ms Mahmood of hypocrisy, saying her government had ‘lost control’ of the UK’s borders.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: ‘The first nine months of this year have been the worst on record for illegal immigrants crossing the Channel.
The Conservatives would leave the ECHR, allowing us to remove all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival – and then the crossings would soon stop.’
