As part of her first major engagement as Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood reached an agreement with counterparts from the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to boost the return of individuals who have no legal basis to remain in any of the partner countries.
The Home Secretary, who replaced Yvette Cooper in last week’s cabinet reshuffle, welcomed the members of the Five Eyes alliance to London today to discuss border security and how to tackle people smuggling.
Reaching an agreement with the fellow Five Eyes members, the Home Secretary said: ”Abuse of our immigration system is a serious threat to public safety – and it is one we are confronting alongside our closest allies.
New Zealand minister Judith Collins, Minister of Public Safety of Canada Gary Anandasangaree, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Minister for Home Affairs of Australia Tony Burke (Image: Jordan Pettitt)
“This announcement sends a clear message to anyone seeking to undermine our border security. If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, we will deport you. If countries refuse to take their citizens back, we will take action.
“The reset of relationships with our international partners under this government, as part of the Plan for Change, is bearing fruit, with returns and disruption of criminal networks up since July last year. Now, we must go further.”
The agreement establishes clear obligations for countries to accept the return of individuals who have no legal right to remain, aiming to build international consensus and accelerate the removal process.
In cases where non-cooperative countries are unwilling to accept the enforced repatriation of their own nationals, this could lead to new measures, including appropriate adjustments to visa arrangements to reflect changes in immigration risk.
The announcement comes after Home Office figures revealed that 1,097 people arrived via small boat crossings on Saturday alone, the highest number of people in a single day on record.
It also took the total number of people arriving to the UK via small boats to more than 30,000 for 2025, which Mahmood described as “utterly unacceptable”.
The Five Eyes also agreed to address the continued use of online platforms by migrants during their journeys, by exploring opportunities for coordinated operational measures against online threats that facilitate organised immigration crime.
Analysis shows that approximately 80% of migrants arriving via small boat report using social media during their journey to the UK, which could include responding to adverts for illegal journeys and communicating with smuggling gangs.
Spearheaded by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), this action aims to detect, disrupt, and deter individuals who facilitate people smuggling through advertising or act as agents for organised smuggling networks.
