Hundreds arrested in illegal working raids in London targeting car washes,

Hundreds of people have been arrested in a crackdown on illegal working in London including at car washes, nail bars, supermarkets and building sites.

Immigration enforcement teams from the Home Office have carried out nearly 1,000 visits to target illegal working in the capital in recent months.

At one hotel in Kensington, six agency staff were arrested, with five on suspicion of illegal working and one identified as having overstayed their visa.

Ministers claimed that the London clampdown was an 11 per cent rise in enforcement activity since the July election.

Border security minister Dame Angela Eagle MP said: “We know that people who come to the UK and end up working illegally in poor conditions are often sold a false narrative about their ability to live and work here.

“This creates a draw for people to risk their lives by crossing the Channel in a small boat – we must put a stop to it.

“That’s exactly why we’re ramping up our enforcement work to clamp down on illegal working and stop the abuse of both the immigration system and our economy.”

The Home Office said that 996 enforcement visits between July and November led to 770 arrests and 462 premises receiving civil penalty notice referrals.

The referrals mean the employers could face a fine of up to £60,000 per worker if found guilty.

Ministers stressed that the London crackdown had particularly focused on targeting car washes, nail bars, supermarkets and construction sites suspected of hiring illegal workers.

Often these individuals are forced to work, and sometimes live, in squalid conditions and may be paid below the minimum wage, it added.

Eddy Montgomery, director of enforcement, compliance and crime at the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement Unit, said: “Our increased activity shows we are absolutely focused on preventing illegal working in the UK and safeguarding those who are made to work in squalid conditions.

“We will continue to work around the clock to stop exploitation by criminal gangs and bring those involved to justice.”

More than 35,000 people have risked their lives trying to cross the Channel in “small boats” to reach Britain this year, more than last year, but below a peak in 2022.

Around two thirds of these arrivals are granted asylum in the UK, according to immigration experts.

More than 70 people have drowned in the Channel this year, as they seek to reach the UK, as people smugglers pack more and more people into unseaworthy inflatable boats, with women and children often at greatest risk.

Britain, like many countries, has limited routes for people fleeing persecution to claim asylum outside the country.

The new Labour government ditched the Tories deeply controversial Rwanda deportation scheme and has instead focused on trying to break up the gangs behind the human trafficking trade across the Channel

But it is not yet clear if the new strategy is proving successful.

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