"We will scrap the plan. We don't think it will work and it is a waste of money," he told reporters after a speech on immigration in Dover, southern England, in which he accused the government of "squandering" money. "A scheme that will only remove a few hundred people a year to Rwanda – less than 1% of the people who come across the Channel in small boats each year – at a cost of £600 million is neither an effective deterrent nor a good use of money," he said. Starmer said he would redirect the funding to a new unit bringing together the UK's main security and border agencies, including the intelligence services, and giving them sweeping powers to dismantle the organised crime gangs behind people smuggling. "This will be an elite force, not a Cinderella service," the Labour leader said, with the aim of making the UK a "hostile environment" for the gangs who organise the dangerous small boat crossings of the Channel. The plan would also involve closer cooperation with international agencies, such as Europol, and tougher jail terms for the people-smugglers, as well as making the UK's asylum system more efficient. The former director of public prosecutions also criticised calls from Conservative MPs, such as former home secretary Suella Braverman, for the UK to withdraw from the European convention on human rights. "I think it's a mistake to think that the problem lies in international instruments," Starmer said. The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has made tackling illegal immigration one of his priorities, tightening measures to deter arrivals, including his plan to deport migrants to Rwanda. More than 8,400 people have arrived in the UK in small boats so far this year, official figures show – a sharp increase on the same period last year. In an attempt to deter migrants, the UK government has made it inadmissible to claim asylum if you have arrived in the country illegally and in April parliament approved controversial plans to deport migrants to Rwanda. The first flights are due to take place in July, months before the next general election, which is due to be held later this year. Read Also: Pelo menos 9 mortos num campo de deslocados na RDCongo (Portuguese version)