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Migrant black market work crackdown is a welcome start but ministers cannot afford to take their eyes off the ball

Migrant black market work crackdown is a welcome start but ministers cannot afford to take their eyes off the ball

The Sun22-07-2025
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ONE of the biggest draws for Channel migrants — along with the chance later to claim benefits — is the ability to work in Britain on the black market.
Voters were furious at the sight of some blatantly operating illegally as delivery riders while being housed for free in taxpayer-funded hotels.
1
So it's good news the Government has followed a Sun investigation by now agreeing to share locations of those hotels with food delivery companies like Deliveroo and Just Eat.
It means riders can have their accounts frozen if they are found to be living there.
Bitter experience tells us that if there's one takeaway from the migrant crisis, it's that criminal gangs will always find a way round the rules.
Ministers cannot afford to take their eyes off the ball on this one.
In the red
WHAT a sad and sorry mess Britain's economy is currently in.
Borrowing costs are the highest since 1998 — with more borrowed in June than at any time since records began, except during Covid.
Our national debt interest is now so huge that it's annually twice what is spent on defence.
Shamefully, it also out-strips money allocated for our kids' education.
Such an unsustainable debt mountain is likely to spark an avalanche of chaos.
Undercover delivery driver investigation
Meanwhile, Angela Rayner wants to kill growth — the key to getting us out of this debt nightmare — by whacking taxes on everything.
That apparently now includes suggesting punishing levies on tourism despite fears it will drive away overseas visitors.
Nevermind that it's one of the UK's soaring success stories.
Why do the Left see success and immediately want to stamp it out?
RIP, prince
HEAVY metal never felt heavier in our hearts than it does today.
Ozzy Osbourne, the Prince of Darkness, has left us.
It's no exaggeration to say that the Brummie hell-raiser was one of the most iconic rock frontmen of all time.
Ozzy's wasn't a carefully crafted image — he lived and breathed every moment of wild excess.
But the working class hero was also a music pioneer who went from playing Birmingham pub The Crown to becoming one of Britain's best-loved sons.
One final hurrah on stage this month gave him the most fitting ending of all.
Belting out Paranoid in front of 40,000 adoring fans in his home city.
It really was the last song ever.
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Killers must reveal where victims are before they are released, say devastated families

Killers must be locked up for life if they refuse to disclose the location of the body, the families of two high-profile murder victims have said. Relatives of Arlene Fraser, whose husband Nat Fraser has twice been convicted of her murder following her 1998 disappearance in Elgin, spoke of the 'mental torture' they are having to endure because no trace of her has ever been found. The family of Suzanne Pilley, who was murdered in 2010 by her work colleague David Gilroy, who was given a life sentence for murder, also condemned his lack of remorse or rehabilitation as he continues to refuse to disclose the location of her remains. They both welcomed a commitment secured from Justice Secretary Angela Constance that this 'must' be taken into account by the Parole Board when making decisions about release and that this will be delivered before next year's election. But they are now pushing her to go further still and introduce a 'no body no parole' rule which means killers who don't disclose the remains can never be released on parole. Ministers will consider whether to go further on 'Suzanne's Law' as part of a consultation on parole which will be published imminently. Gail Fairgrieve, Suzanne Pilley's sister, said: 'I think that people need to understand, the Parole Board need to understand, that this crime was still continuing. It is perpetrating the crime against us. We are still dealing with this every day. 'Everyday events - you go into a card shop and you can't buy anything for your sister. It's there constantly and he has information that could just put us at ease and bring Suzanne home. 'I feel that this ruling had to consider now that he can't possibly be rehabilitated or show remorse if he is continuing to withhold this information. This information is a full part of his crime and he needs to give us that information, otherwise life imprisonment means life imprisonment.' She added: 'They have to consider it and when they look at all the considerations that the Parole Board look at to release a prisoner, (by) withholding that information from us he is not rehabilitating, there is no remorse, there is nothing.' Carol Gillies, the sister of Arlene Fraser, said: 'I feel that he (Nat Fraser) controlled Arlene when she was alive, and he is controlling her when she's dead as well. 'If the Parole Board can almost give them a choice - tell us more information or stay in jail - so he needs to make a choice, it's his choice what he does.' On the emotional impact of Arlene's body never being discovered, she said: 'It is a form of mental torture for us, it really is. I don't like using dramatic words but it is. He has that information, there is no doubt about it.' 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Facing jail, Albanians who set up £1.8million cannabis factory in abandoned shopping centre
Facing jail, Albanians who set up £1.8million cannabis factory in abandoned shopping centre

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An abandoned shopping centre was turned into a £1.8million cannabis factory by three Albanians, a court heard. Two of the men had previously been ordered to be deported from the UK - with one managing to return after he had been kicked out. Elton Skenderi, 30, Gjovalin Toma, 31, and Eduard Daja, 39, yesterday appeared in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow. They all admitted being involved in the production of the class B drug after thousands of plants were seized in September 2024. The three were warned to expect lengthy jail terms when they are sentenced next month. Judge Lord Mulholland told the men: 'You have all been convicted of drug trafficking. This was no small time operation. 'You have all come here to receive the benefits available from living here and this is how you treat the country - criminality on an industrial scale.' The cannabis factory had been set up in shuttered units at the disused former Forum Shopping Centre in Irvine, Ayrshire. Police had been tipped off by Scottish Power who had concerns about energy use at the premises. Prosecutor Stewart Ronnie said: 'Entry was forced and a large cannabis cultivation was discovered over two floors.' Police also found the same set up in neighbouring units within the building. There had been a barricaded door to try and stop the authorities getting in together with CCTV rigged up outside. There was also what was described as 'living quarters' which included a bedroom, a cooking area, an electric heater as well as tables and chairs. Photos shown to judge Lord Mulholland also showed clothes hanging up, toiletries lying around and pictures on a wall. A total of 3,058 cannabis plants were seized. Mr Ronnie said the drugs had a value of between £611,600 and £1,834,800. During the probe into who was involved, officers spoke to a witness who had regularly spotted 'several foreign males' turning up at the shopping centre in the early hours most days of the week. A white van would often roll up and the men would be seen with 'heavy black bin liner bags'. Skenderi and Toma were held that night after trying to run from police. Daja was caught the next day after being spotted leaving a fire exit at the shopping centre. He claimed to have been sleeping in the building. Fingerprint and forensic evidence linked Skenderi and Daja to the crime scene. This included DNA from both found on hair clippers discovered there. Mr Ronnie added: 'At the time of their arrest, all three refused to provide information relevant as to whether they were victims of human trafficking.' Daja was sentenced to eight months for a similar offence in May 2023 at Leeds Crown Court. He also served with a deportation order and was returned to Tirana in Albania in July 2023 under the Facilitated Returns Scheme. This programme was set up in 2006 to make the removal of foreign criminals from the UK easier and at the earliest opportunity. But, Daja ended up back in the country - not known when - and soon returned to crime. He admitted to a charge of breaching the order yesterday. Toma also had a previous conviction for cannabis growing. He was sentenced to 14 months in Leeds in 2022. He was also ordered to be sent back to Albania, but went on to claim asylum and it remains a live case. Skenderi - like the other two - had no ties to the UK.

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