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Endangering lives at sea will carry a jail sentence of five years as the Government cracks down on people traffickers.

Border officials can also seize migrants’ phones to look for intelligence on the smugglers.

People convicted of helping prepare smuggling – such as buying boat parts – face up to 14 years behind bars.

The new powers will try to tackle gangs involved in the early stages of smuggling people across borders.

Some of the proposed legislation includes plans laid out by the last Conservative government.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason:

“We are planning to bring in the new laws this year.

“Counter-terror style powers mean we can step in much earlier to take action on those who are facilitating the boats”.

Boat launches from French beaches are often terrifying and dangerous, investigators say, with some of the passengers doing the work of gangs by forcing reluctant travellers to climb on board.

A senior law enforcement official said investigators often found themselves dealing with “traumatised victims in a floating crime scene”.

The five-year term for endangering lives is in addition to existing laws, such as grievous bodily harm or attempted murder, that may result from people smuggling.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said the government was right to tackle smuggling gangs.

“But we are very concerned that by creating new offences, many refugees themselves could also be prosecuted,” he added.

Police believe people smuggling involves hundreds rather than thousands of perpetrators and was “not like the drugs trade”.