Starmer's own new border chief admits plan to smash smuggling gangs 'not enough'

While it's unclear what kind of deterrent Hewitt may want, his calls follow internal National Crime Agency memos from 2023 in which officials concluded stopping the boats would be impossible without one.

The NCA had added that no amount of money nor effort against human traffickers would be enough to stop the crossings entirely.

Despite the NCA memos, the Prime Minister scrapped the Rwanda deterrent on his first day on the job and has said he is "absolutely convinced" that his "smash the gangs" strategy is the way forward.

On Monday, Starmer claimed that cracking down on the gangs and swifter returns processes would act as deterrents in and of themselves.

Speaking to the media from Rome, where he was meeting migration hardliner Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, Starmer talked up how his Government had deported some 3,000 foreign criminals and unsuccessful asylum seekers since the General Election.

But critics have said that processing asylum claims more quickly may even encourage even more prospective migrants to travel to the UK from countries like Afghanistan, Iran or Syria, knowing they will have their asylum applications processed more swiftly - and cannot be sent back home for their own safety.

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Indeed, in the two-and-a-half months since the election, more than 10,000 people have arrived on Britain's shores on small boats.

But when questioned on an apparent lack of deterrent on Monday, the Prime Minister said: "Our deterrent operates on a number of levels. Firstly is breaking the gangs in the first place, because if you can take the gang down, the model doesn't work.

"People can't make the journey, and nobody is going to spend money on a journey which isn't going to come to fruition because the gangs have been taken down.

"The second part is processing claims and removing people very quickly, which is why I was keen to point out the numbers of people we've removed since we've been in office, 3,000 or so - the single biggest flight."

Starmer has come under fire for axing the Rwanda deterrent - not least from former Border Force chief Tony Smith, who warned there was still a "pull factor" in place bringing people from countries like Afghanistan, Iran and Syria to the UK.

He said: "I think it was a mistake to abolish the Rwanda plan because it was designed to fix the problem we had with those difficult nationalities.

"Most of them would qualify for asylum anyway - but even if they don't, it's really, really hard to remove them to their source countries."

But most scathing in his criticism was former Home Secretary James Cleverly - a long-time proponent of the Rwanda scheme.

He said: "The need for a deterrent to stop the people smugglers is obvious. We know it, the NCA know it, and now we hear Labour's new border commander knows it.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that Labour's cancellation of our plan with no replacement won't cut it. Tough talk, but doing less isn't a plan, it’s smoke and mirrors, and they are being found out."