Major crackdown on migrants working illegally as firms will be given locations of asylum hotels to axe riders' accounts
The Home Office has struck a deal with Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats in a major win for The Sun.
3
Hot-spots for delivery riders working illegally will be flagged up for raids to immigration enforcement officers
Credit: Ray Collins
3
A masked rider challenges an immigration enforcement officer about his rights
Credit: Chris Eades
3
Officers speak to a migrant delivery rider
We revealed asylum seekers were
They are not legally allowed to work but have used shared accounts to dodge checks.
Last night PM Sir Keir Starmer said: 'The Sun has rightly put the spotlight on
"And we're tackling the problem. If a rider is staying at this accommodation, the companies will know and can close down the rider's account.
'We will do what it takes to uphold the law and to ensure fairness for the British people.'
Under the agreement, hot-spots for such riders will be flagged up for raids by to immigration enforcement officers.
And delivery companies — who insist that they are already investing heavily in security systems to prevent abuse — will be hauled in again in the coming weeks to give updates on what progress they have made.
Home Secretary
Most read in The Sun
'By enhancing our data-sharing with delivery companies, we are taking decisive action to close loopholes and increase enforcement.'
Last month we revealed how more than 20 cops in body armour
Undercover delivery driver investigation
But the migrants were allowed to return to their taxpayer-funded rooms after being questioned.
Tory Shadow Home Secretary
'It is disgraceful that rampant illegal working has been taking place on an industrial scale at the very hotels
'This is all a consequence of the Government's complete failure to control our borders.
'All
'Then, the crossings would soon stop.'
Labour is also planning to tighten the law, forcing gig economy firms to carry out full right-to-work checks on anyone using their platforms.
And, from today, the Government is ramping up pressure on the criminals fuelling the migrant crisis.
'Plans in place to stop the gangs'
By Sir Keir Starmer
WE will stop at nothing to tackle illegal migration. So this week we have delivered a world first: a new sanctions regime to target the vile people-smuggling gangs.
We will go after the gang leaders, those supplying boats and fake passports, and the moneymen.
Their assets will be frozen. Their bank accounts will be closed. And they will be banned from the UK.
We've already returned 35,000 people — way up on the year before.
We're working with Germany to close a legal loophole there, allowing police to seize small boats being stored and transported in their country.
By working with France, we have agreed to a totally unprecedented returns pilot.
We're also taking a zero-tolerance approach to the illegal jobs which gangs promise.
Under our nationwide crackdown, raids and arrests are already up 50 per cent.
The Sun has rightly put the spotlight on migrants working illegally as food delivery riders.
We will share asylum accommodation locations with Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats. If a rider is staying at this accommodation, the firms will know and can close down their account.
We will do what it takes to uphold the law and to ensure fairness for the British people.
Leaders of smuggling gangs, peddlers of fake passports and corrupt officials will be named and shamed.
The first wave – expected to number around two dozen offenders – will include travel bans, asset freezes, and restrictions on access to the UK financial system.
Meanwhile the Sun can reveal the Thistle City Hotel, one of the capital's biggest asylum accommodation locations, is
When The Sun returned yesterday it appeared nothing had changed — as a steady stream of migrants came and went in full delivery rider gear from a fenced-off area put up to hide them from public view.
We previously revealed that owners the Clermont Hotel Group, headed by CEO Gavin Taylor, had raked in £28million in revenue since taking on asylum seekers in November 2021.
But at the same time residents of a block of apartments across the road fear the value of their homes has plummeted.
One, who moved in 15 years ago, told The Sun: 'It is just constant noise, every day and every night.
'They all work.
'The police are here constantly.
'It's annoying a lot of residents in the block.
'I put my place on the market last year but nothing happened and I ended up taking it off the market because I had a newborn.
Staff don't quiz 'kids'
SMALL boat migrants who claim to be children are being given the benefit of the doubt by staff.
A report by borders inspector David Bolt found that immigration workers show a 'lack of curiosity'.
An Iranian with grey hairs and black stubble had his age claim of 17 accepted despite being assessed as 22.
AI technology is set to be rolled out in 2026 which can accurately assess a person's age.
Last year half of the 'children' were really adults.
'I'm not against people coming here for a better life.
'And obviously asylum seekers need to be somewhere.
'But if the hotel closed it would make the area a lot better.
'I'm sure the people who own the hotel are doing really well, funded by the Home Office while we pay our service charge and our taxes.'
And a 27-year-old city finance worker said the problem had 'got a lot worse' since he moved in at the start of the year.
He said: 'We went over there to try to get information on how long it would be a migrant hotel.
'We were pretty much kicked out straight away.
'They said they understand the problems but once the residents are on the street, they have no control.'
The owner of a coffee shop said customers were staying away and his business had been broken into three times.
Read more on the Irish Sun
He added: 'I pay £8,000 every three months in taxes and business rates.
'If the hotel closed down I am sure business would improve.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
5 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
Wicklow Gaelscoil faces loss of teacher because it is ‘only one pupil short of the threshold'
Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow, John Brady, has called on the government to intervene to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio in Gaelscoileanna and to prevent the loss of a teacher from Gaelscoil Uí Chéadaigh, in Bray, this September. 'Following the crash in 2011, the government made the damaging decision to increase the pupil-teacher ratio in Gaelscoileanna, under the guise of aligning them with English-medium schools,' Deputy Brady said. 'This policy shift has had long-term consequences, and now we see those consequences play out locally in Gaelscoil Uí Chéadaigh, which is being forced to lose a teacher because they are only one pupil short of the threshold. It is disgraceful and deeply unfair,' he said. Deputy Brady said he has repeatedly raised the issue with the Education Minister Helen McEntee, but the Department has refused to consider exceptional circumstances, despite the significant impact this decision will now have on the school community, something he described as 'completely unacceptable'. 'I have been in contact with the Minister for Education, but despite the very clear case put forward by the school and community, there is a total unwillingness to show any flexibility. The result is that the children are being punished, staff are being stretched, and the quality of the education is being compromised', he said. The Wicklow TD also highlighted the 'hypocrisy at the heart of government claims' to support the Irish language and expand opportunities for Irish-medium education, while 'failing to back that rhetoric with real investment or meaningful policy change'. 'The Programme for Government set a target of 19:1 pupil teacher ratio for primary schools. But the reality in classrooms, particularly in many Gaelscoileanna, is worlds apart. Schools are overcrowded, under-resourced and under constant pressure. The decision to strip Gaelscoil Uí Chéadaigh of a teacher shows just how little regard this Government has for Irish-medium schools and for the children who attend them,' he said. He also criticised what he described as 'the ongoing failure of successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments' to tackle staffing issues in Gaelcholaistí, pointing to Coláiste Ráithín, in Bray, as an example of a school facing persistent difficulties. 'Year after year, Coláiste Ráithín is left scrambling to fill teaching posts due to staff shortages beyond their control. It is a repeated cycle that the Government refuses to fix. They 'talk the talk' regarding the Irish language, but when it comes to real support for the schools delivering Irish-language education, they vanish. It is a fantastic school, and they should not have this constant worry,' he said. He said that unless the Government reinstates the previous, lower pupil-teacher ratio for Gaelscoileanna and immediately intervenes to prevent the loss of staff at Gaelscoil Uí Chéadaigh, they will continue to fail children, parents and communities who recognise the value of Irish-medium education. 'If the government is serious about investing in children's education, about supporting the Irish language, and about giving real choice to families as to where they send their children to school, they must act now,' he concluded.
Irish Times
33 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Delay of law proposal adds to uncertainty around redress for clerical abuse survivors
A proposal for a law that would allow religious organisations to be held liable for abuse by their members will not be considered by the Government until 2027 at the earliest. Many religious organisations are unincorporated bodies. This means they as entities cannot be sued and their assets may be beyond the reach of the courts if and when one of their members are found liable for damages against child sex abuse survivors. Individual members of such religious bodies can face legal action, but case law shows it can be difficult to legally pursue the organisation itself for redress. There are concerns about how the State will recoup redress funds from religious bodies for a scheme being considered for survivors of sexual abuse in schools. READ MORE If set up, it would likely be the largest and most expensive redress scheme in the history of the State. Since 2022, the Law Reform Commission (LRC) has been considering whether the Government should legislate to give unincorporated associations, such as voluntary religious orders, their own legal personality or set out another way by which they may be held liable. Minister for Education Helen McEntee has said: 'The Government will review any recommendations made by the commission in its final report, with a view to introducing any necessary legislative or administrative changes in due course.' However, a spokesman for the LRC said its report on changing the legal status of bodies such as religious organisations will not be ready before the end of next year. 'The report about the liability of unincorporated associations is being scoped at present. We do not yet have a completion date but we do not expect it to be published before the end of 2026,' the spokesman said. Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik has expressed concern about whether a delay in progressing such a law would stymie the ability of the Government to access religious organisations' assets, or the lay-run trusts that their assets may have been transferred to. Ms Bacik said her party is trying to bring forward a Bill that would allow civil proceedings to be taken against unincorporated bodies like religious orders. It would allow any damages awarded in such cases to be recovered from a religious organisation or from 'associated' trusts. The same law, if passed, would also add a one-year extension to the normal limitation period provided for in the statutes of limitations. The Labour Party leader said this was to allow any proceedings that the Bill would cover to be brought within 12 months of it being enacted. She recently personally handed a copy of the Bill to the Attorney General. Given the upcoming Commission of Investigation into historic abuse in schools, the Government cannot afford to 'sit back and wait' for the LRC report to finish, she said.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Spending on infrastructure makes sense, cutting VAT on hospitality is quite mad
Looking at the performance of the economy over the last 18 months, things look pretty good, as long as you aren't looking for somewhere to live. On to an already buoyant economy, last year's election budget ploughed in more money, equivalent to more than 1 per cent of national income. With full employment, this served to further drive up domestic demand, and also house prices. It hasn't made us much better off, even if it proved popular and garnered a few votes. As election budgets go, it could have been worse. The election budget of 1977 was the biggest culprit in the economic misery of the 1980s, and the election budget of 2007 pushed the economy and house prices to new heights, leaving it even further to fall in the ensuing financial crisis. By these standards last year's election splurge, while ill-conceived, was much less damaging. This year, with no election in sight, it should be time for wiser counsels to prevail in government. While we are seeing continuing growth in the economy, the Department of Finance provides a much more sombre assessment of what is to come due to US president Donald Trump 's wrecking ball. READ MORE Tariffs and a possible trade war would directly affect Ireland, with possibly more serious consequences stemming from the damage done to the wider European Union economy. While this downbeat assessment calls for fiscal caution, instead of heeding their own advice, the Government plans to increase expenditure next year by more than 7 per cent, while national income may rise by 5 per cent. This might be acceptable if they also planned a big increase in taxes , to avoid stimulating an already fully employed economy. However, without tax increases it will add to inflationary pressures. [ What did the summer economic statement really tell us about Budget 2026? Opens in new window ] The Government also, correctly, has highlighted the huge deficit in infrastructure in Ireland stemming from the economic success of the last decade. In countries such as Germany, Italy and Greece, more older people die each year, vacating their homes, than new young households are formed. As a result, these countries don't need a big increase in housing or in related infrastructure. In contrast, with our rapidly growing population, we need to invest in more housing, water and energy, as being provided now in the updated National Development Plan (NDP). [ We need to confront the reality that the housing shortage can't be solved Opens in new window ] While the Government has the money to spend on building more infrastructure, this will work only if a range of other complementary policies are implemented. Firstly, while spending money on infrastructure makes sense, in a fully employed economy we need to redirect resources from other sectors to building and construction. For example, the plan to cut VAT on catering and accommodation is quite mad. The latest data shows that that sector is booming. Instead we need to free up resources for new building by spending less in other economic sectors. In sectors that are already thriving, it could make more sense to raise taxes than to lower them, to encourage redirection of labour to our most urgent problem, housing . David McWilliams on how 'big incentives' to build could save Dublin city Listen | 36:51 The NDP sensibly provides funding to build new wires to link homes and businesses with electricity generation. There is also funding for a long overdue metro for Dublin , and to bring water from the Shannon to Dublin to tackle the knife-edge water supply in the capital. However, these projects will get under way only if the planning and regulatory systems are dramatically reformed. It has already taken five years for planners to consider a verdict on the metro. Countries such as Spain would have built the metro in that time, instead of merely scrutinising the plans. The North-South electricity interconnector was announced 20 years ago, while planning delays on both sides of the Border mean it will be 2032 before it finally happens. Once started, the actual construction will just take months to complete, not the decades spent in planning. The need to pipe water from the Shannon to Dublin was established over a decade ago, yet it could be many more years before it is delivered under the present planning system. In the 19th century, specific legislation was enacted to build our railway system. As Michael McDowell has suggested, a similar legislative approach should be taken today to developing key infrastructure. [ There is a way to unblock Ireland's infrastructural logjam Opens in new window ] We need to enact a specific legal mandate, in the overriding national interest, to drive forward critical projects and avoid the endless round of planning applications, appeals and judicial reviews. Had we done that for the metro, it would have been finished a decade ago. But unless the planning system is reformed, I'm unlikely during my lifetime to ride the metro or drink Shannon water from my tap.
