Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced a £58 million funding boost for border security with an emphasis on investment in new technology.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) will receive the money as an increase in its core budget for the next financial year, representing a 9% rise compared with this year.
10 Downing Street said the move comes as part of the effort to reduce illegal immigration into the UK and the Government’s commitment to fight people smuggling through increasing the intelligence capability.
It indicated that the funding will be used to expand access to datasets and systems to NCA intelligence and investigative teams, borders staff and policing partners to give them access to a single intelligence picture, and supporting data analysis.
It will also provide an increase in technology to support collaborative working, obtain threat specific data from international partners and covert sources, and deliver specialist operational equipment such as covert audio/visual tools and tracking capabilities.
