{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreiae3cpnci7ftgf5eeyzttyuzt7dvhhiialr3gvp5s6luf6nlxxqnq",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:oznbnvgr7dmvddiyvr7dih52/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhdb4a3vx662"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreihnsxt22ehbfrgszpypl6it7ny4w3w223si4m663rjk54hj5lmxh4"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 94740
  },
  "path": "/news/iran-war-illegal-migrants-channel-britain",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-18T09:31:20.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Iran takes revenge over top security chief death as Israeli couple killed in deadly strikes",
    "British Muslims prefer Iran and Russia to US, bombshell poll finds",
    "Keir Starmer turns to Labour lawyers to assess legality of Strait of Hormuz intervention",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nThe Iran war is likely to increase the number of illegal migrants crossing the Channel, the head of the National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned.\n\nGraeme Biggar, NCA director general, confessed the US-Israeli war against Iran could make organised immigration crime worse on UK borders.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHe said: “Migrant demand to reach the UK unlawfully continues to be high, and the conflict in Iran is likely to increase the challenge.”\n\nThe NCA chief admitted that migration crises generally follow conflict, with people being displaced from their homes and fleeing to safety.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHe continued by saying he was not “expecting” an “absolutely massive increase from Iran”, but “some of it will be in small boats”.\n\nIn his speech launching the National Strategic Assessment 2026 in Stratford, Mr Biggar said the majority of arrivals were nationals from the Horn of Africa, who have outnumbered Albanians and Vietnamese as the highest number of migrants coming to the UK.\n\nHe continued saying tackling people-smuggling networks remains the NCA’s top operational priority, making up around a quarter of its work.\n\nHowever, he acknowledged the challenge of disrupting criminal activity largely based overseas, particularly where such actions are not illegal in those countries, but said the agency was seeing growing success.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nIn 2025, officers and European partners seized more than 500 boats and engines, preventing tens of thousands of potential Channel crossings, while key smugglers were arrested and jailed.\n\nHe added that the NCA is targeting every aspect of the trade - from equipment and finances to communications, while maintaining a “relentless focus” on the threat despite continued high demand.\n\nWorking alongside Belgian police, Mr Biggar said NCA officers arrested a suspected key supplier in organised immigration crime - believed to have provided equipment used in around half of all Channel crossings in 2023.\n\nHe was later jailed for 11 years in January.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:\n\n\n\n\n  * Iran takes revenge over top security chief death as Israeli couple killed in deadly strikes\n  * British Muslims prefer Iran and Russia to US, bombshell poll finds\n  * Keir Starmer turns to Labour lawyers to assess legality of Strait of Hormuz intervention\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMr Biggar said recent months have seen a series of significant arrests across multiple countries, including Iraq, Libya, Ethiopia, Turkey, Germany and France, with further action expected in the coming weeks.\n\nHe added that efforts are also focused on the UK-based elements of the networks, working with police and immigration enforcement to tackle illegal working and disrupt smuggling operations domestically.\n\nThe arrivals of small boats was up 13 per cent year-on-year in 2025, with over 45,000 people making the crossing from France to Britain.\n\nWith the weather beginning to improve, there is an expectation that small boat crossings will ramp up over the coming weeks as the sea is generally calmer.\n\n**_MORE TO FOLLOW..._**\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter **",
  "title": "Iran war likely to create 'surge of illegal migrant crossings' into Britain, National Crime Agency warns"
}