Five years in jail for giving people smugglers social media boost
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, is to change the law to criminalise the creation of online content which promotes or offers services facilitating a breach of UK immigration law.
The new offence, to be introduced through an amendment to Labour's borders bill, will cover small boat crossings, the creation of fake travel documents such as passports or visas, or promising the chance to work illegally in the UK.
It will also become a crime to post online content that encourages someone to break UK immigration law in exchange for money.
This would cover someone being paid by a people smuggler to post material on social media which promotes illegal journeys to the UK. It will also be punishable by up to five years in jail.
The new offences come as the Home Office revealed around 80 per cent of small boat migrants told officials they used social media during their illegal journey to the UK, including to locate or communicate with an agent or facilitator associated with a people-smuggling gang.
More than 25,400 migrants have crossed the Channel to the UK so far this year in 432 small boats, up 50 per cent on last year's figure and the highest number since the first arrivals in 2018. Some 5,454 have made it in July alone in 80 boats.
Ms Cooper said: 'Selling the false promise of a safe journey to the UK and a life in this country – whether on or offline – simply to make money, is nothing short of immoral.
'These criminals have no issue with leading migrants to life-threatening situations using brazen tactics on social media. We are determined to do everything we can to stop them – wherever they operate.
'We have to stay one step ahead of the ever-evolving tactics of people-smuggling gangs and this move, part of our plan for change to boost border security, will empower law enforcement to disable these tactics faster and more effectively, ensuring people face proper penalties.'
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has smashed crime gangs using social media accounts to promote crossing, including a pair of men from Wales who ran an operation through Europe labelled ' Tripadvisor for people smugglers '.
Dilshad Shamo, 41, and Ali Khdir, 40, brought about 100 migrants illegally to Europe each week over a period of two years and offered them bronze, silver, gold and platinum packages, depending on risk. They were convicted after pleading guilty to people-smuggling midway through their trial.
A platinum package could get you a flight, whereas silver might land you a 'comfortable ride' in the back of a lorry. Migrants from the Middle East heading to Europe rated their journeys in videos filmed inside lorries, boats and even on planes.
Investigators found the video reviews on the phones of the smugglers themselves, seemingly made as promotional material.
Another network operated by Amanj Hasan Zada, a Preston-based smuggler later jailed for 17 years, also posted videos of migrants thanking him for helping them.
Albanian gangs have used social media to promote £12,000 'package deals' to Britain, including accommodation and employment upon arrival.
Since December 2021, the NCA has worked with social media companies to remove 22,000 posts promoting organised immigration crime. More than 8,000 were removed in 2024, a 40 per cent increase on the previous year.
It follows measures introduced as part of the Online Safety Act under which social media companies have been required to prevent and remove adverts by people smugglers for small boat crossings of the Channel or face jail and multi-million pound fines under new laws.
Under the Act, two current offences involving modern slavery or exploitation and aiding and abetting crossings have become 'priority' offences in the bill. This means social media firms have to proactively prevent the adverts from being posted and remove any that are put up.
If they fail to do so, Ofcom, the watchdog, has powers to fine them up to 10 per cent of their global turnover, equivalent to £9.7 billion for Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The watchdog Ofcom will also be able to block their services in the UK.
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