Indian and Pakistani men arrested on suspicion of working illegally in Coventry
Officials from the Home Office teamed up with Coventry Police. One Pakistani and one Indian national were found to have breached the conditions of their visas by illegally working.
At the time of writing, the Pakistani man had been detained, and the Indian national had been released under strict reporting conditions, the Home Office said. Both have been warned they will be removed from the UK.
READ MORE: Coventry WHSmith undergoes major change after company sold for £76m
On Wednesday (July 16), Immigration Enforcement (IE) and West Midlands Police targeted illegal working hotspots across Coventry and Birmingham. Together, they swooped on illegally modified e-bikes near Birmingham New Street Station.
It led to the arrest of four men for working illegally, including one Eritrean and one Guinean. Both were failed asylum seekers with no right to work in the UK and have been placed on strict reporting conditions, pending travel documents being issued to facilitate their removal from the UK.
Minister for Border Security, Immigration, and Asylum Dame Angela Eagle said: 'We will not stand for illegal working, which is why, under our Plan for Change, we have increased action nationwide, with visits and arrests up by around 50 per cent since coming into power.'
She continued: 'People travelling to the UK illegally are sold a lie by the people smuggling gangs that they will be able to live and work freely in this country, when in reality they end up facing squalid living conditions, minimal pay, and inhumane working hours.'
In the past year, more than 10,000 illegal working visits have been conducted, leading to 7,130 arrests across the UK. Of these, 1,151 people were arrested in the Midlands.
Matthew Foster, from West Midlands Immigration Compliance and Enforcement, said: 'Illegal working will not be tolerated. It undercuts legitimate businesses, drives down local wages, and often traps vulnerable people in exploitation and poor conditions.'
He added: 'We are stepping up enforcement across the UK, targeting the criminals and rogue employers who profit from this abuse. If you try to work illegally or help others to do so, we will track you down and hold you to account.'
Sign up for our FREE daily newsletter here for all the latest news about Coventry.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Part of Wales where car crime has gone up more than anywhere else in the UK, and you'd never guess it
Vehicle thefts rose by more than 50% year on year in a Welsh police force area. A new study shows that all four Welsh police forces were ranked among the top 10 for the largest year-on-year increase in stolen vehicles. And the Dyfed-Powys area saw the highest rise nationwide, with thefts jumping by 52% from 2023 to 2024. Gwent followed in second with a 20% increase. The statistics form part of a wider problem in these areas over the last five years, as both of these forces also recorded some of the biggest increases in vehicle theft since 2019. Gwent has seen a 37% increase in this crime over the past five years, while the Dyfed-Powys area has experienced an astronomical 428% rise - the biggest in the UK. The analysis comes from GoCompare car insurance, which used official Home Office data and a freedom of information request to the UK's police forces. It compared annual figures from the past five years to calculate the areas with the biggest increases in car thefts, and found that Welsh areas consistently saw some of the largest rises. Biggest increases in vehicle thefts from 2023 to 2024 by police force area Dyfed-Powys - 52% Gwent - 20% Police Scotland - 14% North Wales - 14% Wiltshire - 12% Bedfordshire - 11% Sussex - 10% South Wales - 9% Northamptonshire - 9% West Mercia - 8% During the same period, many areas of the UK saw a decline in vehicle thefts. The City of London recorded the largest drop, a 39% reduction from 2023 to 2024. Despite theft numbers improving here, it was still the second biggest hotspot in the UK, with one theft for every 91 vehicles, behind only Greater London. Thefts also fell in several northern regions last year. In the north east, Cleveland and Northumbria constabularies reported drops of 25% and 18%, respectively, from 2023. Multiple police forces in the north west also recorded fewer thefts, with Greater Manchester (19%), Merseyside (18%) and Cheshire (9%) all seeing a decline. Nationally, vehicle thefts fell by around 3% last year compared to 2023, although this figure is still 8% higher than in 2019. Steve Ramsey, managing editor for motoring at said: 'While vehicle thefts in the UK fell last year, there were still more incidents than five years ago, and certain areas continue to experience worrying increases. "It's clear that more needs to be done to improve security. If you live in an area where thefts are rising, consider taking some extra steps to protect your car. 'Investing in anti-theft measures like a Thatcham-approved alarm, steering lock, or other gadgets can help keep it secure. Always park in well-lit, CCTV-monitored areas or in a garage if you can. "Plus, keep your keys away from the front door and out of sight to avoid attracting thieves' attention. "It's also important that you get the right level of protection for your car, as third-party only policies don't offer cover for theft. 'Unfortunately, crime rates do impact insurance prices, so you might pay a higher premium if you live in an area where thefts are more common. "Claiming for a theft could result in increased costs, too, but comparing policies makes sure that the impact on your wallet is kept to a minimum.'
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
UK fears new summer of unrest, year after Southport riots
Concern is mounting that recent violent anti-immigrant protests could herald a new summer of unrest, a year after the UK was rocked by its worst riots in decades. Police have arrested 16 people since protests flared last week outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in the town of Epping, northeast of London. In one demonstration, eight police officers were injured. The unrest was "not just a troubling one-off", said the chairwoman of the Police Federation, Tiff Lynch. "It was a signal flare. A reminder of how little it takes for tensions to erupt and how ill-prepared we remain to deal with it," she wrote in the Daily Telegraph. Protestors shouted "save our children" and "send them home", while banners called for the expulsion of "foreign criminals". Cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds on Thursday urged people not to speculate or exaggerate the situation, saying "the government, all the key agencies, the police, they prepare for all situations. "I understand the frustrations people have," he told Sky News. The government was trying to fix the problem and that the number of hotels occupied by asylum seekers had dropped from 400 to 200, he added. The issue of thousands of irregular migrants arriving in small boats across the Channel, coupled with the UK's worsening economy, has triggered rising anger among some Britons. Such sentiments have been amplified by inflammatory messaging on social networks, fuelled by far-right activists. Almost exactly a year ago on July 29, 2024, three young girls were stabbed to death in a frenzied attack in northwestern Southport. The shocking killings stoked days of riots across the country after false reports that the killer -- a UK-born teenager whose family came to the country from Rwanda after the 1994 genocide -- was a migrant. Nearly 24,000 migrants have made the perilous journey across the Channel so far in 2025, the highest-ever tally at this point in a year. The issue has become politically perilous, putting pressure on Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer's centre-left government, as the anti-immigrant, far-right Reform UK party rises in the polls. - 'More unrest likely' - The Epping protests were stirred after a 38-year-old asylum seeker, who only arrived in Britain in late June, was arrested and charged with three counts of sexual assault. Images from the protests have gone viral on social networks, mirroring what happened last July. But Epping residents have maintained that the protests are being fuelled by people from outside the community. "These violent scenes ... are not Epping, and they are not what we stand for," the Conservative MP for Epping, Neil Hudson, told parliament Monday. While calm was restored to Epping, a middle-class suburban town with a population of 12,000, tensions remain palpable. "This is the first time something like this has happened," one local who lives close to the Bell Hotel told AFP, asking not to be named. "The issue is not the hotel, but extremists applying a political ideology," he added. Late on Thursday, the hotel, cordoned off behind barriers, was again the centre of a protest involving dozens of people, with police making one arrest. With another protest expected on Sunday, the local council voted through a motion to demand the government no longer house asylum seekers at the hotel. The UK is "likely to see more racist riots take place this summer", said Aurelien Mondon, politics professor and expert on far-right and reactionary discourse at Bath University. Anti-immigrant protests have already erupted elsewhere, with demonstrations in the southeastern town of Diss in Norfolk outside a similar hotel on Monday. Last month, clashes flared for several days in the town of Ballymena in Northern Ireland after two teenagers with Romanian roots were arrested for the alleged attempted rape of a young girl. - 'Civil disobedience' - "It is well documented that many of the protests we are witnessing are not the result of grassroots, local movements," Mondon said. "Social media plays a role and facilitates coordination amongst extreme-right groups," but it is "also crucial not to exaggerate" its power, he added. High-profile far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who was blamed for stoking the Southport unrest, announced he would be in Epping on Sunday, before later seeming to scrap the plan. The firebrand anti-Islam campaigner has just been freed from jail after spreading fake news about a Syrian immigrant, but faces trial on a separate issue in 2026. "I don't think anybody in London even understands just how close we are to civil disobedience on a vast scale," said Reform leader Nigel Farage. "Most of the people outside that hotel in Epping weren't far right or far left," he said, they "were just genuinely concerned families". mct-ebl/jkb/jj/lb
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Birmingham depot where lorries delayed again by striking bin workers
Continued strike action by bin workers in Birmingham in a pay dispute with the council has led to lorries being delayed from leaving one depot. The refuse collectors have been on the picket line at the Atlas Depot in Tyseley on Thursday (July 24) morning affecting the number of dustcarts which have been able to get out. Birmingham City Council has said this may affect the number of bin collections it can make in the centre and east of the city. Read more: Costs of the bin strike exposed Areas served by the Atlas depot include the city centre, the Jewellery Quarter and Soho, Newtown and Nechells, Moseley, down to Hall Green, up to Ward End, Bromford and Hodge Hill and across to Sheldon, and Shard End. In a post on X, the city council said: 'Due to actions on the picket line there are delays in waste wagons leaving our Atlas depot this AM. 'This may affect the number of collections we are able to make from this depot. 'If today is your collection day, leave bins out we will collect them asap.' An injunction had been in place which appeared to have stopped striking bin workers delay bin trucks from leaving depots. But the council confirmed delays had started again last week and have continued this week. West Midlands Police had been intervening to stop the blockades of bin depots but has now eased back on that intervention following a Court of Appeal decision in May found police powers to restrict protests were 'unlawful'. The decision set a higher threshold to what amounts to 'serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community' under the Public Order Act. A West Midlands Police spokesperson asked why it was not stopping lorries being delayed said: 'We continue to have a policing presence at sites across Birmingham as and when required as a result of the current industrial action. 'We attend to deal with any breach of the peace and to ensure any crimes are investigated accordingly. 'We continue to assess the situation and ensure our presence at the sites is in line with our core policing responsibilities.' And a Unite spokesperson said: 'Our members, as always, are engaged in peaceful and lawful picketing.' The long-running bin strike began in January and went to an all out strike in March with Unite the Union members striking over the council's plans to remove 170 Waste Recycling and Collections Officer roles. This week the total cost of agency workers who are carrying out bin collections while Unite members strike, has been almost £8 million. Get the latest BirminghamLive news direct to your inbox The council is looking to limit the number of higher paid roles to stave off multi-million-pound equal pay claims if those roles continue. Unite say their members are being asked to forfeit £8,000 in wages – and they are therefore striking. In April some 200 drivers, mainly men, were told they too faced pay cuts as part of the equal-pay review, with drivers set to be downgraded from the Grade 4 paygrade to Grade 3 – a lower level. And earlier this month the council announced some 130 workers – all senior drivers – are now at risk of redundancy. The strike shows no signs of abating with residents facing continuing missed collections, no green collections service all year and no recycling either.