The command was first proposed by the Labour Party in May 2024 as an alternative to the Conservative government's Rwanda asylum plan, with the aim of tackling the ongoing crisis of illegal migrant crossings on the English Channel. After Labour's victory in the 2024 general election, the command was launched by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on 7 July 2024.
The command was proposed as Labour's alternative to the Rwanda asylum plan of the incumbent Conservative government, which the party claimed would fail to tackle the migrant crossings across the Channel and criticised as a waste of money.[1][3] The command was further detailed in Change, the Labour Party's manifesto for the 2024 general election, as one of its main manifesto commitments.[4] In the manifesto, the party pledged to establish the command with counter-terrorism powers to enable it to prosecute people smugglers should it enter government.[5] It would be funded by ending the Rwanda asylum plan and reallocating the money pledged for the plan to the command, which the party said would enable it to "pursue, disrupt and arrest those responsible for the vile trade".[6] Starmer said he wanted to raise around £75 million from the defunct plan each year to fund the command.[7]
Following Labour's victory in the 2024 general election and the formation of the Starmer ministry on 5 July, the new Labour government scrapped the Rwanda asylum plan on the day it entered office.[8][9] On 7 July, the new home secretaryYvette Cooper launched the Border Security Command (BSC) to replace the plan, accompanied by an audit into the money already granted to the Rwandan government through the plan to see if the UK government could take it back, as well as new counter-terrorism legislation which would be drawn up in the coming weeks to tackle illegal immigration.[7][10] The command would be funded by money previously earmarked for the Rwanda plan and would be responsible for coordinating the activities of Immigration Enforcement, MI5, the Border Force and the National Crime Agency in tackling smuggling gangs which facilitate illegal migrant crossings over the English Channel.[11][12] The new office of Border Security Commander was also established, whose remit would be to lead the new command and its members, with the government expecting the appointment of the first officeholder to be made in the coming weeks.[12][13] A team in the Home Office was tasked with setting out the remit of the command, as well as its governance structure and its strategic direction.[12][14]
The Border Security Command is led by the Border Security Commander, who answers to the Home Secretary; the office is currently held by Martin Hewitt, who was appointed to the role in September 2024, by the Home Secretary,[11] with an advertised salary of £140,000 to £200,000.[15]
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