Cooper orders ‘crackdown' on suspected illegal working for delivery apps
It comes after Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat said they would ramp up facial verification and fraud checks over the coming months after conversations with ministers.
Last week the shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, claimed in a post on X to have found evidence of people working illegally for the food delivery firms during a visit to a hotel used to house asylum seekers.
On Saturday, the Home Office said anyone caught 'flagrantly abusing the system in this way' will face having state support discontinued, whether entitlement to accommodation or payments.
'Strategic, intel-driven activity will bring together officers across the UK and place an increased focus on migrants suspected of working illegally whilst in taxpayer-funded accommodation or receiving financial support,' the Home Office said.
'The law is clear that asylum seekers are only entitled to this support if they would otherwise be destitute.'
Businesses who illegally employ people will also face fines of up to £60,000 per worker, director disqualifications and potential prison sentences of up to five years.
Asylum seekers in the UK are normally barred from work while their claim is being processed, though permission can be applied for after a year of waiting.
It comes as the Government struggles with its pledge to 'smash the gangs' of people-smugglers facilitating small boat crossings in the English Channel, which have reached record levels this year.
Some 20,600 people have made the journey so far in 2025, up 52% on the same period in 2024.
Ms Cooper said: 'Illegal working undermines honest business and undercuts local wages, the British public will not stand for it and neither will this Government.
'Often those 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.
'We are surging enforcement action against this pull factor, on top of returning 30,000 people with no right to be here and tightening the law through our Plan for Change.'
Home Office director of enforcement, compliance and crime, Eddy Montgomery, said: 'This next step of co-ordinated activity will target those who seek to work illegally in the gig economy and exploit their status in the UK.
'That means if you are found to be working with no legal right to do so, we will use the full force of powers available to us to disrupt and stop this abuse. There will be no place to hide.'
Deliveroo has said the firm takes a 'zero tolerance approach' to abuse on the platform and that despite measures put in place over the last year, 'criminals continue to seek new ways to abuse the system'.
An Uber Eats spokesperson has said they will continue to invest in tools to detect illegal work and remove fraudulent accounts, while Just Eat says it is committed to strengthening safeguards 'in response to these complex and evolving challenges.'
Responding to the announcement, Mr Philp said: 'It shouldn't take a visit to an asylum hotel by me as shadow home secretary to shame the Government into action.'
He added: 'The Government should investigate if there is wrongdoing by the delivery platforms and if there is a case to answer, they should be prosecuted.
'This is a very serious issue because illegal working is a pull factor for illegal immigration into the UK – people smugglers actually advertise it.'
Mr Philp also said women and girls were being put at risk because deliveries were being made to their homes by people 'from nationalities we know have very high rates of sex offending', without specifying which nationalities he was referring to.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Powys County Times
3 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Steve Coogan says ‘disappointing' Labour year will ‘pave the way' for Reform UK
Actor Steve Coogan has said he understands why people would vote for Reform UK instead of Labour as he described their first year in Government as 'disappointing'. The 59-year old actor and comedian, who recently starred in The Penguin Lessons, reportedly supported the Labour Party in previous elections until last year, where he backed the Green Party. Speaking to The Guardian, Coogan said the current Labour Government is 'no different from a Conservative government in neglecting ordinary people'. 'What they're doing is putting Band-Aids on the gash in the side of the Titanic,' he said. 'The success of Reform, I lay squarely at the feet of the neoliberal consensus, which has let down working people for the last 40 years and they're fed up. It doesn't matter who they vote for, nothing changes for them. 'They'll pave the way for the only alternative, which is a racist clown. Reform (UK) couldn't organise a p*** up in a brewery, but if there's no alternative, you understand why working people will make that choice.' This comes after the Labour Government marked one year since winning the 2024 general election. Coogan added: 'It's not just the fact that people are disempowered and feel like they have no autonomy. It's compounded by the fact that these people, these multinationals, are enabled and supported by the Government to keep their foot on the neck of working people. 'If any government wants to address that extremism, what they have to do is tackle the root cause…(which is) poverty and economic decline in the post-industrial landscape, especially in the North. 'If Labour addressed that problem, Reform would go away – all their support would dissipate.' Coogan also said he agreed 'wholeheartedly' with MP Zarah Sultana's statement shared on Thursday which said the Government had failed to 'improve people's lives' and that the 'two-party system offers nothing but managed decline and broken promises'. Ms Sultana also announced that she was quitting the Labour Party to co-lead a left-wing alternative with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Coogan is best known for portraying Alan Partridge, a persona which pokes fun at British broadcasters, having appeared in several TV series as well as the 2013 feature film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa.
North Wales Chronicle
3 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Steve Coogan says ‘disappointing' Labour year will ‘pave the way' for Reform UK
The 59-year old actor and comedian, who recently starred in The Penguin Lessons, reportedly supported the Labour Party in previous elections until last year, where he backed the Green Party. Speaking to The Guardian, Coogan said the current Labour Government is 'no different from a Conservative government in neglecting ordinary people'. 'What they're doing is putting Band-Aids on the gash in the side of the Titanic,' he said. 'The success of Reform, I lay squarely at the feet of the neoliberal consensus, which has let down working people for the last 40 years and they're fed up. It doesn't matter who they vote for, nothing changes for them. 'They'll pave the way for the only alternative, which is a racist clown. Reform (UK) couldn't organise a p*** up in a brewery, but if there's no alternative, you understand why working people will make that choice.' This comes after the Labour Government marked one year since winning the 2024 general election. Coogan added: 'It's not just the fact that people are disempowered and feel like they have no autonomy. It's compounded by the fact that these people, these multinationals, are enabled and supported by the Government to keep their foot on the neck of working people. 'If any government wants to address that extremism, what they have to do is tackle the root cause…(which is) poverty and economic decline in the post-industrial landscape, especially in the North. 'If Labour addressed that problem, Reform would go away – all their support would dissipate.' Coogan also said he agreed 'wholeheartedly' with MP Zarah Sultana's statement shared on Thursday which said the Government had failed to 'improve people's lives' and that the 'two-party system offers nothing but managed decline and broken promises'. Ms Sultana also announced that she was quitting the Labour Party to co-lead a left-wing alternative with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Coogan is best known for portraying Alan Partridge, a persona which pokes fun at British broadcasters, having appeared in several TV series as well as the 2013 feature film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. The Government has been contacted for comment.
Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Pro-Palestine protesters halt London Pride parade by hurling paint & blocking roads after terror ban
It comes as the Home Office welcomed the ban on the group Palestine Action Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) PRO-Palestine protesters have brought the London Pride parade to a standstill by hurling paint and blocking roads. Youth Demand disrupted the event at around 2pm targeting the float of technology firm CISCO - a sponsor of London Pride. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Pro-Palestine protesters from Youth Demand throw red paint and glue themselves to the lead float during the annual Pride parade in London Credit: EPA 3 Metropolitan Police officers speak to 83-year-old Reverend Sue Parfitt during a protest in support of Palestine Action Credit: PA 3 A protest organised by the Defend Our Juries group in front of the Mahatma Gandhii statue in Parliament Square Credit: PA Meanwhile arrests have been made at a protest in London being held in support of Palestine Action after a ban on the group came into force on Saturday, police said. Campaign group Defend Our Juries said it planned to gather in Parliament Square holding signs supporting Palestine Action. The Metropolitan Police posted on X on Saturday afternoon saying officers are responding to the protest in Parliament Square and making arrests. Palestine Action lost a late-night Court of Appeal challenge on Friday which sought to stop the protest group being banned, less than two hours before the new legislation came into force at midnight. The designation as a terror group means that membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The force posted on X saying: "Officers are responding to a protest in support of Palestine Action in Parliament Square. "The group is now proscribed and expressing support for them is a criminal offence. "Arrests are being made. Further updates will be shared here." It comes as the Home Office welcomed the ban on Palestine Action after the group failed to block its proscription with a late-night legal bid. The designation as a terror group means that membership of or support for Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The group lost a late-night Court of Appeal challenge on Friday evening, which sought to stop it being banned, less than two hours before the move came into force at midnight. A Home Office spokesperson said on Saturday: "We welcome the Court's decision and Palestine Action are now a proscribed group. "The Government will always take the strongest possible action to protect our national security and our priority remains maintaining the safety and security of our citizens." The move to ban the organisation was announced after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, an incident claimed by Palestine Action, which police said caused around £7million of damage. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action on June 23, stating that the vandalism of the two planes was "disgraceful" and that the group had a "long history of unacceptable criminal damage". MPs in the Commons voted 385 to 26, majority 359, in favour of proscribing the group on Wednesday, before the House of Lords backed the move without a vote on Thursday. Four people - Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, Jony Cink, 24, Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 36, and Lewis Chiaramello, 22 - have all been charged in connection with the incident at Brize Norton. They appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday after being charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage, under the Criminal Law Act 1977.
