It’s all very well to talk of ‘smashing’ the gangs. But until there are other routes, the dangerous crossings will keep happening

Another day, another pledge from the government to smash the people-smuggling gangs. The foreign secretary, David Lammy, has lined up alongside the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, to promise stronger measures to get rid of those who continue to bring desperate people across the Channel in flimsy dinghies. Lammy’s latest policy is a new sanctions regime against the smugglers, the first of its kind in the world. A week ago, Cooper announced phone bans, social media blocks and travel restrictions in new interim orders to stop smugglers in their tracks.

The sincerity of ministers’ commitment to smash the gangs is not in doubt. There has been a flurry of similar announcements since Labour came to power, and the government is going about its mission with a zeal bordering on the evangelical. The previous government made the same commitment with a slightly different slogan – “stop the boats”. Now, like then, it is doubtful the policy will work.

Diane Taylor writes on human rights, racism and civil liberties