The Home Secretary has announced a new package of measures to crack down on illegal migration as part of Labour's manifesto pledge to "smash the gangs".

Yvette Cooper - alongside the PM - had canned the Tories' Rwanda deportation plan on their first day in office - but with Channel crossings close to reaching 20,000 people this year alone, the Government has been forced to play its hand.

In Cooper's plans sit a litany of measures aimed at shoring up "immigration enforcement and returns activity" - and she talked up Sir Keir Starmer's much-hailed European "relations reset" amid a continental effort to shore up borders and sea crossings.

The measures include the hiring of 100 dedicated intelligence officers and investigators by the National Crime Agency to specifically target smuggling gangs and increased detention capacity at Immigration Removal Centres to boost deportations.

There's a special emphasis on illegal workers in the UK - with a Home Office statement calling out "unscrupulous employers".

The statement drew attention to what it called a "new intelligence-driven illegal working programme" which is set to target, investigate and enforce penalties on those who employ illegal migrants.

Cooper said: "We are taking strong and clear steps to boost our border security and ensure the rules are respected and enforced.

"Our new Border Security Command is already gearing up, with new staff being urgently recruited and additional staff already stationed across Europe.

"They will work with European enforcement agencies to find every route in to smashing the criminal smuggling gangs organising dangerous boat crossings which undermine our border security and put lives at risk.

"And by increasing enforcement capabilities and returns, we will establish a system that is better controlled and managed, in place of the chaos that has blighted the system for far too long."

Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice has reacted to Labour's crackdown on illegal immigration with scepticism that the Government's plan will work.

He's called on Yvette Cooper to adopt his own strategy if her efforts fail.

"Home Sec ⁦Yvette Cooper⁩ talks tough on removals of illegals," he wrote on social media.

"Anyone optimistic? She has refused my call to set time limit on smash gangs strategy before adopting ⁦Reform UK's⁩ strategy of pick up and take back."

Welcome back to GB News' Politics LIVE blog.

We'll be updating this page throughout the day with live politics updates as they come in.