Tag: Home Office

The press release issued by the Home Office on 10 September 2024.

By April 2025, all visitors who do not need a visa will need an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to travel to the UK.

The government is taking major steps towards delivering its ambitious aim to digitise the UK border and immigration system and has today set out new implementation dates for the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme.

Everyone wishing to travel to the UK – except British and Irish citizens – will need permission to travel in advance of coming here. This can be either through an ETA or an eVisa.

Today we are confirming that from 27 November 2024, eligible non-Europeans can apply for an ETA and will need an ETA to travel from 8 January 2025. ETAs will then extend to eligible Europeans from 5 March 2025, who will need an ETA to travel from 2 April 2025.

ETAs are digitally linked to a traveller’s passport and ensure more robust security checks are carried out before people begin their journey to the UK, helping to prevent abuse of our immigration system. An ETA costs £10 and permits multiple journeys to the UK for stays of up to 6 months at a time over 2 years or until the holder’s passport expires – whichever is sooner.

From today, information about ETA eligibility is available on GOV.UK. Anyone needing to apply for an ETA will be able to do so through a quick and simple process using the UK ETA app.

Gulf Cooperation Council visitors already need an ETA to travel to the UK.

The introduction of ETAs is in line with the approach many other countries have taken to border security, including the US and Australia.

Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Seema Malhotra, said:

Digitisation enables a smooth experience for the millions of people who pass through the border every year, including the visitors we warmly welcome to the UK who are predicted to contribute over £32 billion to our tourism economy this year.

The worldwide expansion of the ETA demonstrates our commitment to enhance security through new technology and embedding a modern immigration system.

People who need a UK visa to live, work or study in the UK are now issued with an eVisa, providing digital proof of immigration status, instead of physical immigration documents which can be lost, stolen, or tampered with. eVisas mean people no longer have to wait for or travel to collect a physical document, streamlining their experience.

The government is asking migrants in the UK who currently use a physical immigration document, including a biometric residence permit (BRP), or a passport containing ink stamps or visa vignette stickers, to take action now and create an online account to access their eVisa.

Most BRPs are due to expire on 31 December 2024, and BRP holders are urged to take action before their BRP expires.

Creating the account enables people to use online services to prove their rights and manage their data, such as their personal details and passport information, and won’t impact their underlying immigration status. Through government funding, extra support is being provided for vulnerable people who need to take action to move from physical documents to an eVisa.

The government continues to work closely with global airline, maritime and rail carriers, who are crucial to ensuring smooth implementation of our digitisation programme.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 9 September 2024.

The Prime Minister is launching a new coalition today (9 September 2024), to tackle knife crime and stop young people being dragged into violent gangs.

Joined by anti-knife crime campaigner, and co-founder of the Elba Hope Foundation, Idris Elba, the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime will bring together campaign groups, families of people who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime, young people who have been impacted and community leaders, united in their mission to save lives and make Britain a safer place for the next generation.

The coalition will also include technology companies, sport organisations as well as partners in the health service, education and the police.

It will work with experts to develop an extensive understanding of what causes young people to be dragged into violence, providing vital evidence that will drive government policy and holding the government to account on its knife crime commitments.

Ahead of its launch, later today the Prime Minister will meet with the Home Secretary, Idris Elba and campaign groups at the first annual Knife Crime Summit at Downing Street.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister will set out how this mission is personal for him. After years spent working as the Director of Public Prosecutions, he has seen first-hand how violence on our streets can destroy families and leave communities devastated.

He will reassure the families that they can have confidence in his determination, and that he has a plan for action, not just talk. He pledged that he will pull the levers needed to halve knife crime, including bringing in new legislation.

This work has already begun with legislation underway to ban ninja swords.

The government will also strengthen the laws around the online sales of knives, making sure the rules in place to stop dangerous weapons ending up in the hands of young people are enforced.

Commander Stephen Clayman, the National Policing lead for knife crime, has been tasked with leading a rapid review to understand how these weapons are sold online and delivered to under 18s, identifying gaps in legislation and the most effective ways to stop this. He will report back to the Home Secretary by the end of the year.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

As Director of Public Prosecutions, I saw first-hand the devastating impact that knife crime has on young people and their families. This is a national crisis that we will tackle head on.

We will take this moment to come together as a country – politicians, families of victims, young people themselves, community leaders and tech companies – to halve knife crime and take back our streets.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

We will not sit back while precious lives are being lost and young people’s futures destroyed. That is why we are making it a mission for the country to halve knife crime in a decade.

Getting weapons off our streets and making sure there are tough and clear consequences for violence are vital. And we also need to prevent young people heading down this path – that means offering young people more hope, more opportunities.

This coalition is crucial – bringing together those who have fought so passionately for change and who know how devastating knife crime can be and why we need action now.

Anti-knife crime campaigner Idris Elba OBE said:

We need to tackle the root causes of knife crime, not just the symptoms. The coalition is a positive step toward rehabilitating our communities from the inside out.

Commander Stephen Clayman, National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for knife crime, said:

We welcome the government’s further commitment to tackling knife crime through today’s announcements.

Knife crime continues to blight the lives of individuals, families and whole communities and despite so much brilliant work ongoing around the country, policing cannot solve this problem alone. Knives are far too easily accessible, with online sellers being a key focus of our work over the last year. I look forward to leading the review into online supply and continuing to work in close partnership with government, retailers and the third sector to find ways we can bring meaningful, long-term change that will make our streets safer for everyone.

Today’s announcement is the first step in the government’s 10-year plan to tackle knife crime, which will be central to its mission to keep our streets safe.

It will build on the new Young Futures programme, already set out by the Home Office, to offer young people a pathway out of crime.

This will create prevention partnerships for young people most at risk of being dragged into violence, and bring together the right services to help them lead safe and healthy lives. Young Futures hubs will be set up offering young people a safe place to go where they can be diverted into positive activities and access the services they need.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 6 September 2024.

A people smuggler who left 7 migrants screaming for help after cramming them into a tiny concealment in the back of his van has been jailed for 10 years.

Anas Al Mustafa, 43, was sentenced today at Lewes Crown Court after ferry staff discovered 7 terrified migrants hidden in a 2 metre compartment of his lorry at Newhaven Ferry Port earlier this year.

Mustafa, who was travelling on a ferry from Dieppe, France to the UK, hid 7 people behind a fitted panel which was specially designed to hide the group in the rear of his van.

His victims, who were forced to stand due to the miniscule size of the gap, were left with no access to clean air, food or water for hours.

As of today, one of the victims, who suffered a stroke, has since developed a long-term memory issue as a result of the conditions they were placed in by Mustafa. One woman also suffered from acute kidney injuries. The rest all required urgent hospital treatment for heat exhaustion and dehydration.

On 29 August, the jury unanimously found the father of 2 guilty of facilitating the breach of UK immigration law.

Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said:

This evil criminal put 7 people’s lives at risk for cash. It is a miracle they are still alive after the conditions they were put in at the hands of Mr Mustafa.

We cannot let these criminal gangs continue to put lives on the line, which is why we are taking decisive action against those who undermine our border security. Our new Border Security Command brings together hundreds of specialist investigators who are dedicated to tackling the criminal gangs upstream before they get a chance to operate in the UK.

Home Office Criminal and Financial Investigations regional lead, Chris Foster, said:

Today’s sentence is a clear message to the careless people smugglers who put profit over lives, we will continue to tirelessly pursue you and bring justice to those you exploit.

The victims are extremely lucky to be alive. This harrowing case shows the extraordinary lengths criminals go to to keep their business model going. My team are committed to staying one step ahead to make sure we stop them and protect lives.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 6 September 2024.

The Home Secretary convenes ministers and law enforcement partners to destroy the gangs that undermine border security and risk lives on small boats.

The Home Secretary will convene a landmark operational summit of cabinet ministers and law enforcement partners today (Friday 6 September), as she sets out the moral imperative to destroy the criminal smuggling gangs making millions out of small boat crossings.

Her comments come after the horrific tragedy in the Channel this week that saw the deaths of at least 12 people, with others reported to be still in a critical condition.

The Home Secretary will be joined at the NCA headquarters in London by ministers including the Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Attorney General Lord Hermer, as well as representatives from the National Crime Agency (NCA), Border Force and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) is deploying formidable covert capability to support the NCA to penetrate and dismantle the gangs at every level of operation – from facilitators to financiers.

UKIC will also attend this landmark meeting, which will set out the progress being made on intensifying the enforcement activity aimed at disrupting, intercepting and destroying the criminal network moving people, boats and engines into Europe and across the continent to the French coastline.

Ministers and law enforcement partners will examine the findings from the analysis commissioned by the Home Secretary on the operational capabilities of the criminal smuggling gangs. Discussion will also be focused on collaboration with European enforcement agencies, including Europol, and plans will be put forward to rapidly enhance this through the government’s new Border Security Command in the coming months.

NCA Director General Graeme Biggar will highlight how close co-operation with the Bulgarian authorities and an established NCA presence in that critical transit country has led to more than 40 small boats and engines being intercepted in recent weeks. This material, now removed from the smuggling supply chain, could have enabled up to 2,400 people to attempt the deadly crossing.

He will also set details of around 70 further live investigations, including:

• working with the Libyan police to target gangs trafficking migrants through Libya, with raids on warehouses where migrants are housed, often in appalling conditions, before making their onward journey to Europe
• collaboration with French authorities to investigate the death of a woman killed in an overloaded boat on 28 July

This meeting led by the Home Secretary comes as she spoke to her French counterpart, Gérald Darmanin, this week to discuss increased co-operation to dismantle the gangs.

Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said:

Exploiting vulnerable people is at the heart of the business model of these despicable criminal smuggling gangs. Women and children were packed into an unsafe boat which literally collapsed in the water this week. At least 12 people were killed as part of this evil trade. We will not rest until these networks have been dismantled and brought to justice.

The last two months has seen encouraging progress, with significant seizures of boats and equipment in Europe. But there is work to do, and the Border Security Command will bring all the relevant bodies together to investigate, arrest and prosecute these networks, as well as deepen our ties with key international partners.

At the same time, we are swiftly removing those with no right to be in the UK, which will ensure we have a fair, firm and functioning asylum system where the rules are respected and enforced.

NCA Director General Graeme Biggar said:

People smuggling puts lives in mortal danger.

As well as arresting suspects and seeing our investigations lead to convictions and sentences, we’re operating around the world to disrupt the perpetrators. This includes helping seize more than 410 small boats and engines since last spring, preventing thousands of crossings.

Tackling the callous criminals behind organised immigration crime is one of the NCA’s highest priorities. We continue to expand our activity to deliver ever greater impact against the threat.

In recent weeks, the Prime Minister has led a reset in the relationship with Europe, with work to increase security co-operation and tackle illegal migration at the heart. This has already led to a 50 per cent uplift in the number of NCA officers stationed in Europol, working on organised immigration crime.

Last week, the Home Secretary announced an additional 100 specialist investigators to disrupt people smuggling globally. In addition to the Europol presence, the NCA has enhanced its international liaison officer network, responsible for cracking down on criminal networks in specific areas.

A new post is open in Austria and officers are being permanently deployed to Romania. Headcount is also increasing in South East Asia, in key countries where gangs are advertising Channel crossings. These are just the first steps of an intensification of the UK’s international law enforcement and bilateral partnership arrangements and serves as a platform for Border Security Command operations.

The tragedy off the French coast on Tuesday 3 September highlights the increasingly extreme measures the gangs are willing to contemplate, as more people are crammed into less seaworthy vessels. It has been reported that most of those who died were women and children.

Intelligence reveals smugglers have also increased the price they charge for migrants to cross the Channel, including charging for children to get into boats, as the business model comes under pressure from UK and partner law enforcement.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 6 September 2024.

A British national who attempted to smuggle 5 migrants, including a 5-year-old child, has been sentenced following a Home Office investigation.

Joshua Bynoe (29) has been jailed for 3 years after a trial at Canterbury Crown Court.

The court heard how on Monday 24 January 2019, Border Force officers conducted a search of a motorhome, driven by Bynoe, bound for the UK in Coquelles, France.

Upon searching the cabin, officers discovered 5 Afghan nationals, including a 5-year-old child, concealed inside storage benches in cramped claustrophobic conditions.

Bynoe was arrested at the scene and taken into custody by Border Force staff and Kent Police.

The court heard how Bynoe had links to a criminal smuggling gang and had concocted a scheme to smuggle the migrants in the storage compartments from Europe into the UK.

Today (Friday 6 September 2024), at Canterbury Crown Court, Bynoe was sentenced to 3 years in prison for assisting unlawful immigration after being found guilty at an earlier hearing.

This sentencing is the latest development in an extensive investigation launched by Home Office Criminal and Financial investigators into people smuggling routes into the UK.

Home Office Head Of South East Region Criminal & Financial Investigations – Steve Blackwell said:

Today’s sentencing shows that perpetrators of immigration crimes will be dealt with and prosecuted regardless of where they are located.

Bynoe recklessly put the lives of 5 people, including a child, in danger by cramming them into a vehicle for hours. His only concern was making money, working with a smuggling gang with no thought for the vulnerable people they were exploiting. He was stopped in his tracks and will now face justice for his criminal actions.

I’d like to thank my investigation team, particularly the OIC – Stacey Crockford, for their hard work on this case. We will continue pursue people smugglers who try to undermine our border security and put lives at risk for profit.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 5 September 2024.

Plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton axed as latest assessment finds site is not value for money for the taxpayer.

The Home Office has made the decision to end plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton, the former Ministry of Defence site in Lincolnshire.

Opening the site from this autumn as planned would have cost a total of £122 million by the end of its use in 2027, meaning the site no longer represents value for money.

A total of £60 million has already been spent on the site.

Work to close the site will begin immediately with the sale happening in line with the process for disposing of Crown land.

Progress is already being made to clear the backlog of asylum cases, which will save around £7.7 billion in asylum costs over the next decade.

The Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle MP said:

Faster asylum processing, increased returns and tighter enforcement of immigration rules will reduce demand for accommodation like Scampton and save millions for the taxpayer as we drive forward work to clear the asylum backlog and strengthen our border security.

We have also listened to community feedback and concerns about using this site for asylum accommodation.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 4 September 2024.

Legislation has been laid in Parliament to ban xylazine and 21 other dangerous drugs as part of the government’s action to prevent drug deaths and crack down on drug dealing gangs.

Xylazine, often known as ‘tranq’, is a high-strength veterinary sedative, which has increasingly been used in combination with opioids such as heroin as a cheap means of stretching out each dose. It has also been found in cannabis vapes.

Xylazine-involved overdose deaths in the United States rose from 102 to 3,468 in the space of just 3 years between 2018 and 2021, and its effects on long-term users – often leaving them immobilised in the street, and prone to non-healing skin lesions – have led to its characterisation as the ‘zombie drug’.

Following a recommendation from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), a statutory instrument has been laid in Parliament this week to control xylazine as a class C drug – a step that has not yet been taken in the United States, Canada, Mexico or other countries in the world affected by xylazine abuse.

Xylazine is one of 22 harmful substances that will be banned under the new legislation, 6 of which will be controlled as class A drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Anyone caught producing or supplying these class A drugs could face up to life in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.

Among the drugs covered by the legislation are new variations of nitazenes, highly addictive synthetic opioids, which can be hundreds of times more potent than heroin and therefore carry an increased risk of accidental overdose.

The statutory instrument will also introduce into law a new generic definition of nitazenes, which will prevent drug gangs from attempting to use minor adjustments to their synthetic compound to try and bypass UK drug laws. The changes are expected to come into force later this year or in early 2025, depending on the parliamentary process.

Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said:

One of this new government’s central missions is to make our streets safer, and we will not accept the use of substances that put lives at risk and allow drug gangs to profit from exploiting vulnerable people.

We have seen what has happened in other countries when the use of these drugs is allowed to grow out of control, and this is why we are among the first countries to take action and protect our communities from these dangerous new drugs.

The criminals who produce, distribute and profit from these drugs will therefore face the full force of the law, and the changes being introduced this week will also make it easier to crack down on those suppliers who are trying to circumvent our controls.

As well as the 6 substances to be controlled as class A drugs, 16 will also be controlled as class C drugs. If caught producing or supplying class C drugs, potential consequences include an unlimited fine, a prison sentence of up to 14 years, or both.

In April 2023, the White House designated xylazine combined with fentanyl as an ‘emerging drug threat’, which has enabled the implementation of an action plan at the federal level to tackle the threat, and which often precedes scheduling a drug as a controlled substance. Some individual US states, including Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, have already implemented their own bans.

Xylazine will remain available for veterinary prescribing. However, it will be only available if lawfully prescribed and it will be an offence to possess or supply it except in accordance with a lawful prescription or under a Home Office controlled drugs licence.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs provides official guidance on the use of xylazine as a veterinary medicine.

The drugs to be controlled as class A substances include:

• AP-237
• AP-238
• azaprocin
• para-methyl-AP-237
• para-nitroazaprocin
• 2-methyl-AP-237

The drugs to be controlled as class C substances include:

• xylazine
• bentazepam
• bretazenil
• 4’-chloro-deschloroalprazolam
• clobromazolam
• cloniprazepam
• desalkylgidazepam
• deschloroclotizolam
• difludiazepam
• flubrotizolam
• fluclotizolam
• fluetizolam
• gidazepam
• methylclonazepam
• rilmazafone
• thionordazepam

The press release issued by the Home Office on 3 September 2024.

The government has pledged to crack down on ‘snatch thefts’ after this criminality soared by more than 150 per cent in the last year.

An estimated 78,000 people had phones or bags grabbed from them on the streets, with policing intelligence suggesting that this is being driven by increased demand for second hand smartphones, both in the UK and overseas.

To tackle this challenge head on, tech companies and manufacturers will be called to attend a Home Office summit on the issue, looking at the new innovations that could take on the illegal market. This will build on anti-theft smartphone features that some tech firms have already rolled out to protect their customers.

The government will also task police chiefs to tackle this scourge in neighbourhood theft. Operation Opal, the national police intelligence unit will launch an intelligence probe to gather urgent intel on the criminals who steal mobile phones, and where these devices end up. This will provide a stronger picture of the stolen mobile phone market, and identify what more needs to be done to tackle the problem.

Local police will also continue to surge police patrols in areas most at risk of serious violence, including robberies at knifepoint, with the government working with forces across the country to ensure that there is visible police presence in these hotspot areas to deter criminals and protect our communities.

New Home Office analysis commissioned by ministers concerned by growing reports of this issue has revealed the following:

• Crime Survey data estimates for the latest 12 months indicates the equivalent of more than 200 snatch thefts every day on streets across England and Wales, the highest rate in more than a decade, and almost 60 per cent higher than the annual average since 2012 to 2013
• the latest Crime Survey estimates showed overall theft from the person, which includes snatch and stealth thefts as well as attempts to steal from the person, increased by more than a third in the past year
• latest published estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales show that over one third (36 per cent) of theft from the person offences involved theft of a mobile phone in the past year

Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said:

With new phones coming to market and young people going back to school and university, many of us will have a new phone in our hands at this time of year. These figures are troubling and the government is determined to do whatever’s necessary to protect people entitled to walk the streets without the threat of robbery.

As part of our Safer Streets mission, this new government is determined to crack down on snatch theft, knife-enabled robbery, and other crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities, and we are working to get thousands more uniformed officers into our communities to restore neighbourhood policing.

Phone companies must ensure that any stolen phones can be quickly, easily and permanently disabled, rather than re-registered for sale on the second-hand market, and we will be meeting them soon to discuss what further action is required to make that happen.

If we work together, government, tech companies and law enforcement can break the business model of the phone thieves and moped gangs who rely on this trade.

National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Personal Robbery, Commander Richard Smith, said:

Personal robbery can have a devastating impact on victims, leaving them with trauma which can be lasting. Criminals often target some of the most vulnerable in society, such as children, with threats that violence may be used, making robbery particularly traumatic. We continue to target those habitual criminals responsible for prolific offending, whilst working to prevent young people from being into this type of offending.

During Operation Calibre, our national police week of action against personal robbery, police forces targeted their activity in over 1,250 known hotspot areas, increasing our visibility and operational activity and arresting those intent on committing crime. However, we know that we cannot arrest our way out of this problem. Manufacturers and the tech industry have an important role in reducing opportunities for criminals to benefit from the re-sale of stolen handsets.

There are several tips you can do to reduce the chances of you becoming a victim, included below. I encourage everyone to follow these and share them with family and friends. If in the unfortunate circumstances you are a victim of robbery, report it to the police or contact Crimestoppers.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 29 August 2024.

Members of an organised crime group have today been jailed for forging more than 2,000 marriage certificates to allow people to live in the UK illegally.

Nigerian nationals Abraham Alade Olarotimi Onifade, Abayomi Aderinsoye Shodipo, Nosimot Mojisola Gbadamosi and Adekunle Kabir have been jailed for a total of 13 years after a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court.

The court heard how, between March 2019 and May 2023, the defendants conspired to make fraudulent EU Settlement Scheme applications. They provided false Nigerian customary marriage certificates and other fraudulent documentation to support the applications of Nigerian nationals in order to remain in the UK.

An investigation led by Home Office criminal and financial investigators, in partnership with Home Office international operations based in Lagos, uncovered more than 2,000 false marriage documents forged by the gang.

At trial, Onifade and Shodipo were both found guilty of conspiracy to facilitate and conspiracy to provide articles used in fraud. Gbadamosi was convicted of obtaining leave to remain by deception and fraud by false representation, and Kabir was found guilty of possession of an identity document with improper intention but cleared of obtaining leave to remain by deception.

Earlier this week (27 August) at sentencing, Onifade received 6 years behind bars, Shodipo 5 years, Gbadamosi 18 months and Kabir 9 months.

Home Office Investigation Supervisor, Chief Immigration Officer Paul Moran said:

This group was absolutely prolific in their desire to abuse our borders and have rightly been brought to justice.

As with many gangs we encounter, their sole priority was financial gain. I am delighted that my team was able to intercept their operation, and I hope these convictions will serve as a warning to unscrupulous gangs who exploit people’s desperation to remain in the UK.

We will continue to work tirelessly to secure our borders and clamp down on the gangs who prey on vulnerable people to make money.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 29 August 2024.

A people smuggler who left 7 migrants requiring urgent hospital treatment after cramming them into a boiling lorry has been convicted.

Anas Al Mustafa, 43, was convicted today after ferry staff discovered the migrants screaming for help inside a tiny compartment of his lorry at Newhaven Ferry Port earlier this year.

The miniscule concealment, which was only 2 metres wide, left the 6 men and 1 woman squashed alongside each other and without the ability to move their arms from their sides.

On 15 February 2024, Mustafa booked to travel on a ferry from Dieppe to Newhaven in his van. The next morning, when he arrived in the UK, the migrants were found concealed in the rear of the van behind a fitted panel, which could only be accessed by a tiny hole measuring just 22 inches.

The court heard earlier this week that the group of migrants were heard banging and calling for help in the over-heated van on board the ferry as they were starved of oxygen. They were later taken to hospital and treated for heat exhaustion.

Mustafa was arrested at the scene for trafficking people into the country illegally. As he was arrested, he frantically deleted material from his mobile phone which was discovered later as the extent of his crimes unravelled.

Officers at the scene had already identified Mustafa as someone they had stopped previously for attempting to smuggle shisha and cigarettes into the UK.

Today (29 August), at Lewes Crown Court, Mustafa was found guilty of facilitating the breach of UK immigration law.

Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said:

This appalling incident could have easily ended in tragedy, and everyone who was squashed inside this criminal’s van is incredibly lucky to still be alive.

We are sending a clear message that we will not tolerate this sort of life-threatening activity. Our new Border Security Command will work with partners across Europe to smash the business models of the criminal smuggling gangs and halt their activities long before they reach the UK.

Home Office Criminal and Financial Investigations Deputy Director, Chris Foster, said:

Today’s conviction is a clear example of the lengths evil people smugglers will go to make cash. The lives of 7 people were put on the line after being crammed into a boiling and tiny concealment in the back of a van with no access to air.

I’d like to thank my investigating teams for their work on today’s case. We will continue to tirelessly pursue people smugglers who undermine our border security in an attempt to trade lives for money.

Lauren Doshi, Specialist Prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service, said:

The defendant in this case attempted to conceal his involvement in smuggling people into this country. A lot of effort had been put into adapting a van to hide people within the back of it in dangerous and potentially life-threatening conditions.

All of this was designed to avoid the checks and border controls that we have to prevent unlawful immigration. He put the lives of those that he sought to smuggle into the UK at risk.

The CPS is committed to working with law enforcement to identify and prosecute those involved in people smuggling.

We will seek to pursue any money or assets gained through this criminality with our proceeds of crime division.