Migrants are pictured arriving in the UK (Image: Getty)
I know how important it is to tackle the vicious gangs behind the boats coming across the Channel.
Refugees from , and Sudan have told me harrowing stories about their treatment at the hands of smugglers.
They are physically and sexually abused by gang members, and threatened with violence or death if they don’t do as they are told.
So it is frustrating that new laws announced by the Government are taking an approach that is unlikely to succeed. First, it risks punishing the victims, not the perpetrators.
The Government is introducing powers to prosecute the people in the boats. But smugglers do not risk their own lives in flimsy dinghies.
Armed with guns and knives, they stay on shore and order terrified refugees onto flimsy vessels that are overcrowded death traps.
Labour risks punishing the victims of smuggling gangs (Image: Getty)
Threatening the victims of the smuggling gangs with criminal prosecution is not going to stop them getting into a boat when they think they might die if they don’t do what they’re told.
Second, it’s right to want to take down the gangs by imprisoning the gangmasters, but we also need to properly undermine their business model, so fewer refugees are forced to turn to smugglers and risk their lives in a small boat.
We have long called for the Government to introduce a humanitarian visa that would create a legal route for refugees to apply for asylum in the UK.
Not everyone applying would be able to come to the UK. Instead, it would be a controlled way to safely divert people away from the gangs and the Channel.
For each person, the UK would consider their asylum application and decide whether they were a refugee and in need of safety.
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Only those found to be refugees would be allowed to stay in the UK, where they would be supported to integrate and contribute to British life.
The Government has the right intentions here. Smashing the gangs matters. But they need to get the details right and have a more carefully thought through plan.
Saving refugees from the cold-hearted clutches of the smuggling gangs would hit these criminals where they fear it most – their pockets. That must also be a vital part of a strategy to tackle the boat crossings.