
Asylum seekers who work illegally should be on ‘next plane home'
Migrants whose asylum claims are yet to be processed are not generally allowed to work but they can apply for permission to work if they have been waiting a year or longer for a decision.
The Home Office last month struck an agreement with Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats to equip these companies with tools to identify patterns of misuse and riders who are not allowed to work in the UK.
The Government will share the locations of asylum hotels as part of the deal.
But the Conservatives have called for illegal working to become a disqualifier in the asylum process, so that anyone caught is barred from becoming a refugee.
'If you come here illegally, take advantage of our asylum system, and then break our laws by illegally working, your asylum claim must be rejected and you should be on the next plane home,' Mrs Badenoch said.
'Under my leadership, the Conservatives will never allow Britain to become a soft touch for those who think they can break the rules and profit from it.'
She also said that illegal working 'rewards illegality, protects perpetrators and mocks hard-working taxpayers.'
Mr Philp said he had seen riders gathering at a hotel housing asylum seekers, which he described as 'an underground courier cartel operating right under this Government's nose'.
He continued: 'Illegal working is a pull factor sold by smugglers as a reward to break in to our country and cross the Channel.
'That is why we are calling for new action: anyone who plays the system should have their status stripped, wages confiscated, and be deported.'
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has previously said that 'illegal working undermines honest business, exploits vulnerable individuals and fuels organised immigration crime'.
She described the Home Office's data-sharing deal as 'decisive action to close loopholes and increase enforcement', and added it sat alongside 'a 50% increase in raids and arrests for illegal working'.

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BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Stanwell protest as Spelthorne council meets over asylum hotel
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BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
Home Office proceeds with plan to house single men in Diss hotel
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Times
5 hours ago
- Times
Homelessness minister quits after ‘hiking rent at house by £700 a month'
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One of the four former tenants, Laura Jackson, a restaurant owner, said: 'Trying to get that much money from renters is extortion.' Labour's Renters' Rights Bill, which is going through parliament, will ban landlords who end tenancies from relisting them for at least six months. It will also ban no-fault evictions, which Ali has described as 'one of the leading causes of homelessness'. No 10 had not publicly commented on Ali's future, but Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, insisted that she had acted within the law. Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative Party chairman, accused Ali of 'staggering hypocrisy', saying: 'She's spoken out about exploiting tenants, about providing more protections to tenants. You can't say those things, then do the opposite in practice, as a landlord.' A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: 'Rushanara Ali fundamentally misunderstood her role. Her job was to tackle homelessness, not to increase it. At a time of widespread political disillusionment, her actions were staggeringly irresponsible and only added insult to injury after years of delay for renters' rights reform under the Conservatives. The prime minister must appoint a new homelessness minister swiftly who will take the need to end homelessness once and for all seriously.' In her resignation letter to Starmer, Ali said she was 'proud to have contributed to the change this government has delivered in the past year'. In his reply, Starmer said: 'Your diligent work at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, including your efforts to put in measures to repeal the Vagrancy Act, will have a significant impact. 'You have also begun the process of delivering landmark reforms including tackling harassment and intimidation in public life and encouraging more people to engage and participate in our democracy. This will leave a lasting legacy. 'I know you will continue to support the government from the back benches and represent the best interests of your constituents in Bethnal Green & Stepney.' Earlier, Tom Darling of the Renters' Reform Coalition said: 'It's mind-boggling that we have a homelessness minister who has just evicted four people in order to rake in more rent — something that will soon be illegal under the Renters' Rights Bill her own department is bringing through parliament.' Mairi MacRae of the homelessness charity Shelter said it 'beggars belief that after months of dither and delay, the government's own homelessness minister has profited from the underhand tactics the Renters' Rights Bill is meant to outlaw'. 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The property was managed on Ali's behalf by Jack Barclay Estates and Avenue Lettings. The i reported that the lettings agencies had tried to charge the tenants nearly £2,000 to repaint the house and £395 for professional cleaning, only to drop the fees after Jackson told them she knew the landlord was a Labour MP. Jackson said: 'The property was not clean when we moved in. It was ridiculous and unfair. It's exploitative.' Ali is understood not to have authorised the request for cleaning fees and to have intervened to cancel it. Jess Barnard, a member of Labour's governing national executive committee, said 'rip-off landlords' should not be MPs. 'MPs should not be landlords, and landlords should not be Labour MPs,' she posted on social media. Ministers defended Ali while stressing they did not know the full details. Reeves said she 'didn't understand' calls for Ali to resign, saying: 'Rushanara Ali seems to have done everything in accordance with the law.'