MIGRANTS working illegally as food delivery riders from asylum hotels are to be arrested and have their bikes seized in a major crackdown.
The Home Office vowed to target the racket after yesterday’s investigation by The Sun triggered widespread outrage.
Cops will seize dangerous e-bikes and officials will target the busiest eateries visited by illegal workers[/caption]
Meanwhile, asylum seekers continued to brazenly cycle out of taxpayer-funded asylum hotels in Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats uniforms.
Police and immigration officers pledged to arrest offenders on street corners and outside their hotels.
And Facebook shut down groups flogging illicit Deliveroo and Just Eat accounts.
They included a forum with 20,000 members in which dozens of accounts were offered for sale or rent every day.
Cops will seize dangerous e-bikes and officials will target the busiest eateries visited by the illegal workers.
And next week Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats will be hauled in to Westminster to meet with Border Security and Asylum Minister Angela Eagle to demand they step up in combating the scandal.
The moves come after The Sun revealed migrants can start earning up to £1,000 a week on apps like Deliveroo and Just Eat within hours of arriving in Britain.
‘Face the consequences’
This is despite rules banning all migrants in hotels from working as delivery drivers, and barring those who in Britain for less than 12 months from any work at all.
The Home Office said: “We are cracking down on this illegal working tactic not just through new legislation, but with dedicated law enforcement operations.
“We are targeting the most prolific riders both on the streets where they are working, and the hotels where they are staying.
“Immigration enforcement are working hand-in-hand with the police so together they can seize these dangerous bikes, stop this illegal working racket, and ensure that fraudulent asylum-seekers face the consequences.”
They added: “We welcome Facebook’s action against pages facilitating illegal working — a crime which undermines honest businesses and undercuts wages.
“The public won’t stand for it, and neither will this Government, which is why we know more still needs to be done.”
A Downing Street spokesman said: “It’s right that a spotlight is being shone on this racket.
“It undermines honest businesses and undercuts local wages.
“The public rightly won’t stand for it, and neither will this Government.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp wrote to the delivery firms demanding action.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp wrote to the delivery firms demanding action[/caption]
Facebook shut down groups flogging illicit Deliveroo and Just Eat accounts[/caption]
The groups included a forum with 20,000 members in which dozens of accounts were offered for sale or rent every day[/caption]
He told The Sun: “The fact illegal immigrants are able to work for companies like Deliveroo within just hours of arriving in the UK is a disgrace.
“This increases the ‘pull factor’ that attracts illegal immigrants to travel from France to the UK.
“The companies deserve to be prosecuted and substantially fined.
“Home Secretary Yvettte Cooper’s failure to stop this is shocking.
“I congratulate the Sun for your work in uncovering this scandal.”
Hotels named as hubs in our investigation included the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in central London, where bikes are strewn and brazen illegal workers were yesterday still seen leaving in fast-food firm uniforms.
The fact that it took this long shows how willing the entire industry was to turn a blind eye.
Source
We told how asylum seekers being housed and fed in hotels across the country were exploiting a loophole allowing legitimate account holders to sub-let work.
On one online forum we found multiple posts offering accounts listed by place names.
Many users hid behind anonymous accounts using nicknames.
A source welcomed Facebook taking action, but added: “The fact that it took this long shows how willing the entire industry was to turn a blind eye.
“These accounts were the critical artery and were so useful to anyone trying to get a job while living in a hotel.
“Now that is gone.”
Last night Deliveroo said: “We have zero tolerance for any misuse of our platform and any accounts which fail to meet their legal obligations will be offboarded.”
“All riders, including substitutes, must complete right-to-work checks including daily identity verification.”
Migrants can start earning up to £1,000 a week on apps like Deliveroo and Just Eat within hours of arriving in Britain[/caption]
Sources said the firm was also working on new ways to combat illegal work at migrant hotels following our probe.
Just Eat said: “We set clear standards and requirements for those who deliver on our behalf.
“We are continuously strengthening our approach to ensure anyone who delivers through Just Eat’s platform has the right to work in the UK.”
It said it had right-to-work checks and had added random facial recognition tests for couriers.
Uber said: “All couriers who use the Uber Eats app must undergo checks to ensure they have a legal right to work in the UK.
“Working with the Home Office and the rest of industry, Uber Eats has launched new detection tools to crack down on anyone attempting to work illegally on our platform.”
PLANS ‘IMPOSSIBLE’
By Julia Atherley
THE UK’s borders watchdog has admitted he does not think the Government’s plans to end the use of asylum hotels will work.
David Bolt, Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, said there is not enough housing stock to make it happen by the end of this Parliament
He told the Lords Justice and Home Affairs committee: “I don’t think it will be achieved, frankly.” Mr Bolt also said he did not believe that targeting the smuggling gangs will stop small-boats crossings of the Channel.
A No10 spokesman said of his comments: “I don’t accept that. The Government is committed to restoring grip to the asylum system.”
Currently, 210 asylum hotels are in use, costing £4million a day.
