Britain to crack down on illegal working by migrants

In addition to punitive measures for employers, illegal workers themselves will be subject to up to six months in prison in England and Wales, while their wages could also be confiscated.

The Immigration Bill, which Premier David Cameron’s government is to introduce this year, will allow for pubs, takeaway food outlets and off-licences, or bottle shops, to have their licences revoked if they are found to employ people who lack permission to work in Britain.

Ministers hope the law will make it impossible for illegal migrants to work, rent a flat, drive or open a bank account.

Takeaways and off-licences could lose their licences if they were found to be employing illegal workers.

Officials are also considering whether this provision should be extended to cover minicab drivers and operators.

“More important is for the message to go out that if you are here illegally and caught working, you and your employer will end up in court”.

Powers for 48-hour shutdowns of businesses suspected of employing illegal workers are to be included in a new immigration bill designed to create a “hostile environment” for undocumented migrants in Britain.

Alp Mehmet, of Migration Watch UK, which supports tighter immigration controls, said: “This is not just about not being seen as a soft touch”.

Under previously announced measures in the bill, banks will be forced to check current accounts against migrant databases and landlords who fail to remove illegal immigrants could face jail.

This is the latest in a series of announcements as the centre-right Conservative Party government tries to curb soaring immigration figures.

Despite the Government battling to reduce net long-term migration into Britain – which reached 318,000 in 2014 – only a small increase is needed to surpass the highest figure on record, which was 320,000 in 2005.

PLANS to throw illegal immigrants in jail for six months if they are caught working in Britain were yesterday condemned as using “a sledgehammer to crack a nut”. This fell to 1,899 the following year before hitting a low of 1,270 in 2012-13.

James Brokenshire, minister of state for immigration and security, has pledged that the government will continue to “crack down on abuse” that is appearing within the UK job market.