Tag: Home Office

The press release issued by the Home Office on 1 April 2025.

A new joint action plan will reduce the risks of human trafficking by discouraging dangerous journeys, disrupting trafficking gangs and supporting victims.

The UK and Vietnam are joining forces to clamp down on human trafficking by committing to a joint action plan.

The agreement was signed yesterday, 31 March, at the Border Security Summit on Organised Immigration Crime in London by the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Vietnam Minister for Public Security General Luong Tam Quang.

The agreement commits both countries to stop traffickers from exploiting vulnerable people by discouraging dangerous journeys, enhancing information sharing and co-ordinating efforts to disrupt trafficking. It builds on a memorandum of understanding signed by the 2 countries in 2018.

Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary, said:

Human trafficking is a barbaric crime that exploits and dehumanises its victims. This government is using every lever to identify victims, safeguard survivors and punish their abusers.

Working closely with international partners is vital and this plan allows us to go after criminals both in the UK and Vietnam who are profiteering off people’s desperation.

Together with the Government of Vietnam, we are working to shut down these vile trafficking gangs and prevent more people from becoming their victims.

Delivery of the joint action plan is supported by up to £1 million of funding over the next year through the Home Office Modern Slavery Fund. Since 2018 the UK has invested over £7 million to strengthen Vietnam’s anti-trafficking response through the Modern Slavery Fund which has identified 720 victims of trafficking and migrants in vulnerable situations, reached over 7 million people with awareness campaigns and educated 1,936 aspiring migrants to the risks of human trafficking.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 31 March 2025.

The Prime Minister and Home Secretary gathered leaders from across the world in London today (31 March) to tackle organised immigration crime.

The purpose of the Organised Immigration Crime Summit is to agree new action to tackle organised immigration crime (OIC) and boost border security.

Discussions at day 1 of the summit included:

• tackling the supply chains and enablers of OIC
• the role of criminal finances in facilitating OIC
• the UK’s systems based approach to border security

as well as how countries can tackle organised crime groups’ operations online in relation to the advertising, promoting and facilitating of illegal immigration services.

The UK and allies including France, Iraq, Vietnam and the USA, and partners including the National Crime Agency (NCA) and representatives from social media organisations, met to agree actions to secure our collective borders, protect vulnerable people from exploitation, and tackle the global threat of organised immigration crime.

Unlike previous summits, this event engaged both European nations and key source and transit countries, as well as those that are integral to the supply of equipment, including small boats and engines, ensuring a broader, more comprehensive approach to tackling OIC.

Concrete outcomes have been agreed across Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, and North America to strengthen international partnerships to disrupt OIC networks.  This also includes new joint work with France to tackle irregular migration in source and transit countries, through community outreach and bolstering false document detection capabilities to Iraqi officials.

The agreement represents a key step forward in the government’s Plan for Change to deliver on working people’s priorities to restore order to the immigration system and comes after the publication of new figures showing more than 24,000 people with no right to be here have been returned since the election – the highest rate of returns in 8 years.

A communiqué was issued that sets out how we will deepen our collaboration internationally to tackle this vile crime.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

Organised immigration crime undermines our security and puts lives at risk. The criminal networks have spread across the globe and no single country can tackle this problem alone.

Today, at the Organised Immigration Crime Summit, the UK has led the way forward by securing international commitments to disrupt and pursue this vile criminal trade in people – part of our Plan for Change to strengthen our borders and keep communities safe.

Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt said:

I have said since I came into my post as Border Security Commander that organised immigration crime requires a coordinated international response to effectively dismantle criminal networks.

In my role I have seen first-hand how the cruelty and greed of criminal gangs puts the lives of the most vulnerable at risk in dangerous small boat crossings all for financial gain.

This summit marks a step change in the international community’s approach to tackling the problem, presenting a critical opportunity to strengthen global cooperation, disrupt criminal networks, and prevent further loss of life.

Director General of the National Crime Agency (NCA) Graeme Biggar said:

Criminal gangs are using sophisticated online tactics, the abuse of legitimate goods and services, and illicit financial networks to facilitate dangerous and illegal journeys which put thousands of lives at risk each year and undermine border security.

Today’s summit sets out international agreements to tackle an international problem.

International intelligence sharing and cooperation is absolutely crucial to track criminal activity across borders allowing us to put a stop to these dangerous criminals.

In addition, today the Home Secretary confirmed over £30 million in funding within the Border Security Command to tackle Organised Immigration Criminal Networks. This significant funding package will be spent on key security projects across Europe, the Western Balkans, Asia and Africa, designed to strengthen border security and combat international criminal smuggling gangs.

The Home Secretary also announced joint work with France to fund an additional grassroots engagement programme to educate local communities on the dangers of irregular migration and people smuggling gangs, raising awareness of the realities and difficulties with travelling to Northern France to cross the Channel to the UK.

This will target both potential irregular migrants and, for the first time, teachers, religious leaders, and family members within vulnerable communities, and builds on the Home Office digital deterrence comms campaign that is already running in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The UK will also collaborate with France to deliver critical training to Iraqi officials and commercial transport staff,  helping them detect fraudulent documents and passports used to facilitate irregular migration and OIC activities.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 31 March 2025.

Nearly £1 million in government funding will support Iraq in its fight to take down the kingpins of organised immigration crime.

The evil linchpins at the top of people smuggling gangs who consider themselves untouchable will be hunted down and brought to justice thanks to nearly £1 million in government funding to support Iraq to combat organised immigration crime.

The Home Secretary’s groundbreaking partnership with Iraq is making significant headway to tackle organised immigration crime and fortify border security in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). New funding, specialist technology and bolder investigation processes have been pursued since the landmark agreement was signed just 4 months ago.

The nearly £1 million in new government funding will support the passing of new anti-smuggling legislation in the KRI, which is a critical milestone in the region’s ability to prosecute organised crime groups involved in people smuggling. It will also be used to provide targeted training, specialist technological support, and community engagement to address key security challenges in the region.

Successful implementation of the new law will also bolster wider National Crime Agency (NCA) operations, supporting them to disrupt high-profile criminal networks operating in the region. The NCA already has more than 70 investigations into top tier immigration crime networks, including those from or within the KRI.

Earlier this year, the NCA worked with KRI law enforcement partners on a joint operation for the first time ever, which resulted in the arrest of 3 high profile members of a people smuggling network impacting the UK.

The UK-Iraq partnership has also led to a major crackdown on the use of fraudulent documents by people smuggling gangs to move migrants through the Iraqi border. Over 100 Iraqi border and airline officials are being trained to detect false papers, and the UK has distributed specialist forgery detection devices across forensic labs in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Dohuk.

The UK is a world leader in false document detection and has shared expertise, specialist equipment and intelligence with the KRG to help them take down a key route used by people smugglers, who are risking the lives of those they transport and compromising border security.

Joint action between the Home Office, NCA and international partners is also targeting the abhorrent business model of these criminal networks, including their use of social media platforms, financial flows, and maritime equipment such as boats and engines. This multi-faceted approach is having a significant impact, with over 8,000 social media accounts taken down in 2024, and more than 600 boats and engines seized by European partners working with the NCA, before they could be used in life-threatening crossings.

The news comes ahead of the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister hosting the first Organised Immigration Crime Summit on 31 March and 1 April, where the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government will co-chair a collaborative session tightening supply chain controls.

Iraq is a key partner in tackling organised crime groups, to ensure the prosperity and security of UK and Iraqi citizens, delivering on the government’s Plan for Change.

The Home Office remains committed to supporting the Government of Iraq and the KRG in tackling the root causes of organised crime, strengthening the rule of law, and safeguarding vulnerable individuals from the dangers posed by criminal networks.

Minister for Security, Dan Jarvis, said:

The ‘Mr Bigs’ of people-smuggling gangs are cowards who hide in other countries and use their stooges to do their dirty work, while they count the grubby blood money they receive. They do not care about the people they are endangering who are being recklessly crammed into increasingly crowded, flimsy boats.

We are using every power in our disposal to hunt them down, bring them to justice and dismantle their evil people smuggling networks. The UK’s partnership with Iraq is a cornerstone in this fight, with both of our countries making significant progress in just a matter of months. Criminal ‘lords’ in Iraq who had previously thought themselves untouchable are now being sent a clear message that their abhorrent business model will fail.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 31 March 2025.

The government is launching adverts for the first time on Zalo, as it expands its campaign warning people about the dangers of trusting people smuggling gangs.

Zalo, the Vietnamese instant messaging and social platform, has over 77 million monthly users.

The ads will run on Zalo and Vietnamese news aggregator Báo Mới in the coming weeks, the first time the UK government has ever advertised on these platforms, helping to secure our borders as part of the Plan for Change.

The campaign forms part of the government’s response to a deluge of false claims spread on social media platforms encouraging people to come to the UK illegally. Posts frequently use coded messages to evade content moderation, such as referring to small boat crossings as a ‘game’. People smugglers have also offered discounts to those who film their journey so the footage can be used as promotional material.

The campaign launch comes as the UK hosts the landmark Organised Immigration Crime Summit at Lancaster House on 31 March to 1 April.

The summit will bring together delegates from over 40 countries and marks a step change in the international community’s approach to tackling OIC. It is a critical opportunity to strengthen global co-operation, disrupt criminal networks, and prevent further loss of life.

Representatives from Meta, X and TikTok are attending the summit to discuss how to jointly tackle the online promotion of irregular migration, such as illegal people smuggling networks. The National Crime Agency announced in January that it had triggered the removal of more than 8,000 accounts linked to people smuggling last year, working closely with social media companies.

The government is currently running ads on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to counter this content in Vietnam, which has already reached over 53 million people since the campaign launched in December.

Vietnamese nationals remain among the top nationality groups crossing the Channel illegally. They accounted for 17% of small boat arrivals in the first half of 2024, reducing to 6% in the second half. Further campaigns have recently been launched in Albania and Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

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

People smugglers are always looking for new ways to peddle their vile trade and we are exposing their lies at every opportunity.

This government is securing our borders and delivering on our Plan for Change, dismantling the criminal gangs who abuse our borders and warning migrants about the risks and realities of coming to the UK illegally.

Founder and CEO of the Vietnamese Family Partnership, Quynh Nguyen, said:

As representatives of the Vietnamese community in the UK, we support the expansion of the social media campaign on Zalo to prevent irregular migration.

Zalo is widely used in Vietnam and introducing adverts on the channel will help to reach many more vulnerable people to warn them of migrant smugglers’ lies.

Our community understands the importance of legal routes, and we are committed to sharing this message with families in Vietnam. We aim to inform and support our community by highlighting the dangers of illegal migration and the importance of seeking legal and safe pathways.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 31 March 2025.

The UK has mobilised over 40 countries and organisations to launch an unprecedented global fight against ruthless people smuggling gangs.

The UK is spearheading the toughest ever international crackdown on organised immigration crime as the Prime Minister and Home Secretary host a landmark summit today (31 March).

The Organised Immigration Crime (OIC) Summit brings together over 40 countries, including the United States, Vietnam, Iraq, and France, to unite behind a new approach to dismantle people smuggling gangs and deliver on working people’s priorities for secure borders.

This is the first time the full range of factors driving illegal migration, from the supply chain in small boats to anti-trafficking measures, illicit finance and social media advertising, have been explored at a global summit of this scale.

The summit will also see representatives from Meta, X and TikTok discuss how to jointly tackle the online promotion of irregular migration.

Through the summit, the government will use all available levers at its disposal to push forward progress in bringing gangs to justice, tackle the global threat of organised immigration crime and protect vulnerable people from exploitation.

To back this drive, the Home Secretary has today announced £30 million of funding going directly to high impact operations from the Border Security Command to tackle supply chains, illicit finances and trafficking routes across Europe, the Western Balkans, Asia, and Africa.

An additional £3 million will enable the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to increase its capacity to prosecute organised international smugglers and expand its international footprint to support the Border Security Command to pursue, disrupt and arrest those responsible for dangerous people smuggling operations.

This reflects the Prime Minister’s long-held view, informed by his work as Chief Prosecutor, that cross border cooperation is the foundation of tackling international gangs and securing Britain’s borders.

In remarks delivered later today, the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, is expected to say:

This vile trade exploits the cracks between our institutions, pits nations against one another and profits from our inability at the political level to come together.

When I was the Director of Public Prosecutions, we worked across borders throughout Europe and beyond to foil numerous plots, saving thousands of lives in the process. We prevented planes from being blown up over the Atlantic and brought the perpetrators to justice.

I believe we should treat organised immigration crime in the same way.

I simply do not believe organised immigration crime cannot be tackled. We’ve got to combine our resources, share intelligence and tactics, and tackle the problem upstream at every step of the people smuggling routes.

The summit will deliver concrete outcomes across Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, and North America by strengthening international partnerships, enhancing intelligence sharing, and implementing targeted disruptions to Organised Immigration Crime networks.

As a direct result, we will be able to strengthen UK borders and security and create a more efficient and manageable asylum system, taking the burden away from housing, the NHS and schools, and giving hotels back to the local economy.

Speaking ahead of the summit, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

Smuggler and trafficking gangs make their money crossing borders so law enforcement needs to work together across borders to bring them down. Only a coordinated international response, across the whole irregular migration route, can effectively dismantle these networks.

The Organised Immigration Crime Summit is the first of its kind and will reinforce the UK’s position as a leader by securing international commitments to disrupt Organised Immigration Crime at every stage of the business model.

The summit demonstrates mine and the Prime Minister’s absolute dedication to disrupting the callous Organised Criminal Gangs, strengthening our borders and ultimately save countless lives.

The UK’s global leadership on this is issue is already delivering results. France has agreed to launch a unit of specialist officers who are mobile, highly trained and equipped to respond dynamically to prevent small boat launches.

Germany has committed to strengthen their laws against those who facilitate smuggling to the UK and a new UK-Italy taskforce is hitting people smugglers’ financial flows. After boosting the resources for the National Crime Agency to work with international law enforcement partners, they have seized 600 boats and engines since July.

Along with this, work continues at home through giving law enforcement tougher powers than ever to smash the smuggling gangs, ramping up removals to record levels and surging illegal working raids to end the false promise of jobs used by gangs to sell spaces on boats.

This comprehensive approach is a vital aspect of the government’s Plan for Change, with the threat from organised immigration crime increasing in scale and complexity.

Organised immigration crime spans multiple countries, nationalities, and criminal methodologies, with recent estimate of the total global income from migrant smuggling reaching $10 billion last year.

Criminal gangs headed by hundreds of kingpins are using sophisticated online tactics, the abuse of legitimate goods and services, and illicit financial networks to facilitate dangerous and illegal journeys which undermine border security and put thousands of lives at risk each year.

The summit will also examine the work of the government’s Joint Maritime Security Centre (JMSC) in supporting the US, by providing innovative space-based maritime surveillance capability to monitor and dismantle any vessels along Haiti’s north coast suspected to be involved in illegal immigration, illegal fishing activities and drug smuggling.

The JMSC is harnessing cutting edge technology and capabilities to provide 24 hour monitoring of UK waters and ensure our borders are secure, by using satellite to provide a better overall understanding of incoming threats to the Turks and Caicos Islands. The UK government is working with our partners in Turks and Caicos to support and protect the Island from irregular migration.

This collaboration demonstrates the UK government’s commitment to deploying advanced capabilities against illegal migration while protecting overseas territories.

There has also been a series of major arrests of smuggling kingpins, including:

• arrests linked to a major Syrian organised crime group responsible for smuggling at least 750 migrants into the UK and Europe
• the arrest of a Turkish national suspected of being a huge supplier of small boats
• the conviction of 2 men in Wales who ran a smuggling ring moving thousands of migrants across Europe
• the arrests in February of 6 men wanted in Belgium over their suspected involvement in a major people smuggling ring

These arrests come alongside the NCA working with the authorities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for the first time, to facilitate the arrests of 3 men linked to a Kurdish people smuggling organised crime group, as well as an increase in the takedown of social media accounts linked to people smugglers.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 30 March 2025.

In the latest move to restore order to the asylum and immigration system, the government will introduce tough new laws to clamp down on illegal working.

Companies hiring people in the gig economy will now be legally required to carry out checks confirming that anyone working in their name is eligible to work in the UK, bringing them in line with other employers. These vital checks, which take just minutes to complete, confirm someone’s immigration status and allow them to legally work in the UK.

This means that for the very first time, employment checks will be extended to cover businesses hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors like construction, food delivery, beauty salons and courier services.

Currently, thousands of companies using these flexible arrangements are not legally required to check the status of these workers. This changes now.

Where businesses fail to carry out these checks, they will face hefty penalties already in place for those hiring illegal workers in traditional roles, including fines of up to £60,000 per worker, business closures, director disqualifications and potential prison sentences of up to 5 years.

Expanding illegal working checks will help level the playing field for the majority of honest companies who do the right thing. For example, Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats already voluntarily carry out checks to ensure their delivery riders are eligible to work.

Clamping down on illegal working forms a critical part of the government’s plan to strengthen the entire immigration system, restoring tough enforcement of the rules and undermine people smugglers using the false promise of jobs for migrants.

The announcement comes a day before the UK holds the first ever Organised Immigration Crime Summit, bringing together over 40 countries to agree unprecedented new international action to take down every aspect of criminal smuggling gangs’ tactics.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

Under our Plan for Change, we are restoring order to the asylum and immigration system by introducing tougher laws and bolstering enforcement action to tackle illegal working and stopping rogue employers in their tracks.

Turning a blind eye to illegal working plays into the hands of callous people smugglers trying to sell spaces on flimsy, overcrowded boats with the promise of work and a life in the UK.

These exploitative practices are often an attempt to undercut competitors who are doing the right thing. But we are clear that the rules need to be respected and enforced.

These new laws build on significant efforts to stop organised immigration crime and protect the integrity of our borders, including increasing raids and arrests  for illegal working and getting returns of people who have no right to be here to their highest rate in half a decade.

Claire Pointon, Managing Director, Just Eat UK and Ireland said:

Just Eat is committed to supporting high streets and communities by ensuring a fair and well-regulated rapid delivery sector. Preventing unauthorised work is key to this, which is why we’re strengthening our measures by introducing biometric checks to swiftly remove those without the correct authorisation to work in the UK. We welcome this decision from the Home Office to expand these requirements to other sectors.

A Deliveroo spokesperson said:

Deliveroo has led the industry in taking action to secure our platform against illegal working, developing our approach in close collaboration with the Home Office. We were the first to roll out direct right to work checks, a registration process, daily identity verification and now additional device checks for riders, including substitutes. We take our responsibilities extremely seriously and will continue to strengthen our controls to prevent misuse of our platform. We welcome the government taking action to ensure all businesses and sectors adopt the same standards.

An Uber Eats spokesperson said:

Uber Eats is fully committed to fighting illegal work and the criminal networks who are often behind it, including by introducing state of the art identity and document video verification technology and mandatory substitute registration. We welcome efforts to enable and enforce further controls, and create a level playing field across the sector.

The checks take minutes to complete, and the Home Office provide this free of charge, with businesses able to utilise digital ID verification technology to support the process. There is also support in place for employers with enquiries about the process.

The new laws further build on measures announced in November to equip Immigration Enforcement teams with new technology. From May, body worn cameras will be rolled out to officers on the front line tackling illegal working and organised immigration crime. Backed by £5 milllion, this will help officers collect evidence to support prosecutions and make sure exploitative businesses undermining our immigration system are held to account.

The new measures go alongside a ramp-up of operational action by Immigration Enforcement teams, who since July have carried out 6,784 illegal working visits to premises and made 4,779 arrests – an increase of 40% and 42% compared to the same period 12 months ago. In that time, 1,508 civil penalty notices have been issued.

This also follows wider measures within the legislation announced earlier this month to impose tougher restrictions on foreign criminals whose removal we are pursuing but we are presently unable to deport. This includes the use of electronic tags, night time curfews and exclusion zones. Breaching these conditions would be grounds for arrest and the individual could face imprisonment.

The measures will help ensure the Home Office maintains close contact with individuals and makes it very clear that they should not become established in the UK, as the intention remains to remove them when possible.

Tomorrow (31 March 2025), the Home Secretary will convene key government and law enforcement leads at the UK’s 2 day landmark international Organised Immigration Crime Summit.

This will include Immigration Enforcement, the Department for Business and Trade, the Gangmasters Labour Abuse Authority and the National Crime Agency, holding a roundtable to discuss the importance of shutting down illegal working and government’s ongoing surge in operational activity.

The summit will bring together leaders from across the globe, with the aim of securing international commitments to intensify efforts against organised immigration crime gangs.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 27 March 2025.

New police powers to protect worshippers from intimidating protests and the new National Holocaust Memorial to be added to list of protected sites.

Places of worship will be better protected from intimidatory protests under new powers being given to police.

The new measures, which will be included as an amendment in the government’s landmark Crime and Policing Bill, will protect synagogues, mosques, churches and other religious sites from intimidating levels of disruption caused by protest activity.

These changes will build on existing laws under the Public Order Act, providing a new threshold for officers to be able to impose conditions – including on the route and timing of a march – where the effect of the protest is to intimidate those attending a place of worship. This will give the police total clarity on how and when they can protect religious sites from the types of protest designed to disrupt them.

Concerns have been raised repeatedly in recent months after protests near synagogues have caused the cancellation of events on the Sabbath and have forced congregants to stay at home due to fears about travelling to their places of worship during large-scale demonstrations, especially in central London. Similarly, during last summer’s violent disorder, thugs targeted mosques in Southport, Hull, Sunderland and other areas, causing significant distress to members of the local community.

The move comes as religious hate crime has continued to rise at an alarming rate, with police-recorded antisemitic hate crimes having soared by 113% in the year ending March 2024, and anti-Muslim hate crimes having risen by 13%.

The Home Secretary has also announced new protections for the Holocaust Memorial planned to be built next to Parliament, with protesters or vandals who climb on the memorial facing imprisonment.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

The right to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy which must always be protected, but that does not include the right to intimidate or infringe on the fundamental freedoms of others.

That’s why we are giving the police stronger powers to prevent intimidating protests outside places of worship to ensure that people can pray in peace.

The Home Secretary has announced that the new offence for climbing on a war memorial – already announced when the Crime and Policing Bill was introduced – will be extended to cover the new National Holocaust Memorial scheduled to be built next to Parliament in Victoria Tower Gardens.

The preventative measure will ensure that the memorial to the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust and all other victims of Nazi persecution will get the protection it deserves, with those breaking the law facing imprisonment.

The move to protect the memorial comes after a rise in disruptive and dangerous tactics used during protests that have caused distress to so many who cherish these sites of cultural and historical significance. The bill measure bans climbing on the most significant memorials built in Britain to commemorate the fallen of World War 1 and World War 2, and the Holocaust Memorial will be added to this protected list.

The new measure to better protect places of worship will not ban protests and recognises the public’s right to take part in peaceful demonstrations. As they currently do, the police will have to make a proportionality assessment before imposing conditions on specific protests – balancing the right to freedom of expression with the right for others to go about their daily lives free from intimidation and serious disruption.

Alongside the new legislation, the government is also providing up to £50 million to protect faith communities next year. This includes £18 million through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant, £29.4 million through the Protective Security for Mosques scheme and for security at Muslim faith schools, and £3.5 million for the places of worship and associated faith community centres of all other faiths.

Lord Khan, Lords Minister for Faith, Communities and Resettlement, said:

Everyone should be protected to practice their faith freely and safely, and no one should fear attending their place of worship.

The freedom to protest is a key part of a democracy which must be protected. These new powers will add to the significant security funding we are providing places of worship, enabling worshippers – and the many others who rely on these important community assets – to go about their daily lives free from intimidation and fear.

Mark Gardner, Chief Executive of the Community Security Trust, said:

The cumulative impact on central London synagogues of repeated large, noisy protests, often featuring antisemitism and support for terrorism and extremism, has been intolerable.

We welcome these new measures to protect the rights of the Jewish community to pray in peace and we thank the Home Secretary for her ongoing support. Everyone has the right to protest, but there must be a balance so that all communities can attend their places of worship free from hate and without fear of being intimidated.

We also welcome the protection of the forthcoming Holocaust memorial which is set to be built next year – a tribute that will have cultural and historical significance for the entire country.

Phil Rosenberg, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said:

We welcome the Home Secretary’s announcement about measures to protect places of worship under the new Crime and Policing Bill. This is something we have been calling for over recent months.

We also welcome the inclusion of the new Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in the protected list of war memorials. Protests near synagogues have led to serious and unacceptable disruption to our communal life over the last 18 months. The intimidatory protests outside mosques during the violent disorder last summer were similarly intolerable.

The new provisions will ensure the right to free speech does not conflict with freedom of worship or religious practice, and will build towards the more cohesive Britain we all want to see.

The Bishop of Manchester, Rt Revd David Walker, said:

People and families should always expect to be able to worship freely, confident in their own safety. Freedom of speech, including the right to protest, is also important in a free and democratic society. I welcome the government’s commitment to making sure our places of worship are safe and secure, and I look forward to exploring these proposals in more detail.

Further information

The new protest powers for police, being introduced into the bill at committee stage, will create a new threshold for sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, which enable police to impose conditions on public processions and assemblies.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 27 March 2025.

Fraud Minister announces new, expanded fraud strategy will be published later this year, as part of the government’s Plan for Change.

The public and businesses will receive fresh protections from the UK’s most commonly experienced crime, the Fraud Minister Lord Hanson will announce today as he sets out plans to publish a new, expanded fraud strategy as part of the government’s Plan for Change.

The minister will detail the work underway on the new strategy, which includes proposals on working with private industry and further international co-operation, in his keynote address to the Global Anti-Scams Alliance (GASA) summit. The summit takes place today and tomorrow (Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 March) at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London.

The minister will say that, with the latest ONS figures finding that fraud reports increased last year by 19%, a ‘robust response’ is required to every aspect of the fraud threat. And with estimates finding that 70% of fraud now includes an international element, global co-operation will be key to tackling this growing issue.

A key focus of the strategy will be combatting tech-enabled fraud, including emerging tech such as AI. The minister will state that getting a grip on these threats will be central to the new strategy.

But Lord Hanson will also re-emphasise the government’s commitment to harnessing the power of developing technologies, including AI, to help tackle crime and reduce the amount of time that the police and prosecutors need to spend completing paperwork rather than delivering justice. This is a key objective of the recently published Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences.

As part of his keynote address, Lord Hanson will also announce plans for a Global Fraud Summit supported by the UK. The summit will be hosted by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and INTERPOL in Vienna in early 2026 and will bring together dozens of governments from across the world to transform the global response to fraud.

With fraud and cyber crime making up 50% of all online crime in the UK, the Fraud Minister will reveal that he has instructed officials to accelerate the development of data-sharing measures to protect the public and businesses. This work, Lord Hanson will say, will take place in collaboration with law enforcement and industry to “stop, block and disrupt” online harms both domestically and internationally.

The announcements also follow the second meeting of the Joint Fraud Taskforce since the new government took office and the first since the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Mansion House speech. Together with the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, the chancellor urged tech and telco companies to go further and faster to tackle fraud.

Fraud Minister Lord Hanson said:

Fraud is an increasingly international enterprise run by some of the most appalling criminal gangs operating in the world today.

That’s why we are determined to work with global partners to build a united front to tackle these criminal networks head-on, wherever they are based.

It’s also why I’m pleased to announce a new Global Fraud Summit to be held in early 2026 and that work is ongoing to develop a new, expanded fraud strategy with international co-operation at its heart, as part of this government’s Plan for Change.

Fraud has changed and so too must our response.

UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly said:

Organised fraud is growing increasingly sophisticated and transnational, requiring stronger collaboration across borders and agencies.

I welcome the UK’s leadership in driving efforts to combat organised fraud and I’m proud that the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime is partnering with INTERPOL to co-organise the Global Fraud Summit 2026 in Vienna.

This is an important opportunity to sharpen our collective response and develop innovative solutions to protect communities from this pervasive crime.

INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said:

Advances in technology, such as AI, have seen online fraud and scams grow in complexity and scale, posing a threat to individuals and organisations alike.

A unified response is essential, and these summits are an opportunity to bring the various sectors together.

We look forward to working with the UK, the UNODC and other partners to build a more effective global response.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 27 March 2025.

Final part of Ronan’s Law introduced in Parliament thanks to campaigning of Kanda family.

In a further move to break the cycle of young people carrying knives and to better protect the public from knife-related crime, from 1 August, ninja swords will be banned. This will make it illegal to possess, manufacture, import or sell these deadly weapons.

The majority of ninja swords have a blade between 14 inches and 24 inches with one straight cutting edge with a tanto style point. From 1 August, anyone caught in possession of a ninja sword in private could face 6 months in prison, and this will later increase to 2 years under new measures in the Crime and Policing Bill. There is already a penalty of up to 4 years in prison for carrying any weapon in public.

Ahead of the ban coming into place, the government, in partnership with law enforcement and members of the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime, will run its most ambitious surrender scheme yet. The scheme will run across the country, targeting young people most vulnerable to knife crime.

The surrender scheme will run from 1 to 31 July to allow any member of the public to hand in these weapons safely.

There will also be new safeguards to prevent exploitation of the scheme. For the first time, there will be a cut-off date and no weapons bought after today (27 March) will be eligible for compensation and we will have stronger value checks. There will also be further guidance released advising where a sword can be surrendered if the owner does not wish to visit a local police station or claim compensation. This will offer the greater use of knife surrender bins and their locations.

The government is exploring every avenue to protect young people and break the behaviour of carrying knives as part of its Plan for Change. The mission to halve knife crime is a cross-Whitehall mission to:

• restrict the availability of knives online
• hold those responsible for selling knives irresponsibly to account
• better support young people at an early stage who are vulnerable to a life of crime

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

Knife crime is destroying young lives as too many teenagers are being drawn into violence and it is far too easy for them to get hold of dangerous weapons.

Ronan Kanda was just 16 when he was ruthlessly killed by 2 boys only a year older than him. Today we are introducing the final part of Ronan’s law in his memory – banning the ninja swords that his killers should never have been able to use.

We are acting with urgency to bring forward measures to prevent deadly weapons from getting into the wrong hands and will continue to do whatever is needed to prevent young people being killed on our streets as part of our mission to halve knife crime over the next decade.

Pooja Kanda said:

Today marks a very important day for us as a family and our campaign. Since losing our beautiful boy Ronan, we have relentlessly campaigned for a ban on ninja swords – the lethal weapon which took his life. We believe ninja swords have no place in our society other than to seriously harm and kill.

We are so grateful to our government for hearing us and for recognising how important and urgent it is to get these dangerous weapons off our streets. Each step towards tackling knife crime is a step towards getting justice for our boy Ronan.

Patrick Green, CEO, Ben Kinsella Trust said:

The Ben Kinsella Trust welcomes the government’s decision to ban ninja swords and implement Ronan’s Law. These weapons, with no practical purpose beyond violence, are simply instruments of war and have absolutely no place in our society or on our streets. The ease with which such dangerous items have been available has contributed to far too many tragedies.

The additional measures under Ronan’s Law, designed to hold those who sell these weapons to account, are critical in breaking the supply chain that fuels this violence. We commend the government for listening to victims’ families, and for taking decisive action.

Sandra Campbell, Chief Executive Officer, Word 4 Weapons said:

Word 4 Weapons stands firmly behind the introduction of Ronan’s Law. Ronan’s tragic death at the hands of a ninja sword highlights the urgent need to tighten legislation around dangerous weapons, online and otherwise. This law is a crucial step toward reducing violence and protecting lives in our communities.

The ninja ban forms part of Ronan’s Law, which aims to tackle the online sale of knives. Last month, the government announced a series of measures to tackle online sales, including a 2-step verification process for the sale of knives online and significant fines for executives who fail to remove knife crime content for their platform. It also announced tougher penalties for being caught with a knife in public and for selling a weapon to any person under 18.

Ronan’s Law will also require online retailers to report any bulk or suspicious-looking purchases of knives to the police. This will apply to all online sales of knives, including those who operate through online marketplaces. In the spring, the government will also consult on the introduction of a licensing scheme for retailers who wish to sell knives.

The press release issued by the Home Office on 12 March 2025.

Employers will be required to prioritise recruiting international care workers already in England before recruiting from overseas.

The new rules were laid in Parliament today (12 March).

From 9 April, care providers who want to recruit a new worker from overseas will have to first prove that they have attempted to recruit a worker from within England who needs new sponsorship. This ensures that those who came to the UK to pursue a career in adult social care can do so and will help end the reliance on overseas recruitment as we restore order to our immigration system through our Plan for Change.

Significant work has been ongoing across government, in collaboration with the care sector, to ensure high standards across the immigration system, and to support care workers into alternative jobs when their sponsor has had their licence removed. Under our Plan for Change, we will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system, linking immigration, skills and visa systems to grow our domestic skills, end reliance on overseas labour and boost economic growth.

As well as continuing to tackle exploitation, the government is also continuing its clampdown on abuse in the immigration system with changes to the Short-Term Student route.

The visa is designed for those studying an English language course in the UK for between 6 and 11 months, however, there are rising concerns that the route is being abused by those without a genuine intention to study or to leave the UK at the end of their course. In light of this troubling trend, tough new rules will give expanded powers for caseworkers to refuse visa applications which are suspected of being non-genuine.

Seema Malhotra, Minister for Migration and Citizenship, said:

Those who have come to the UK to support our adult care sector should have the opportunity to do so, free from abuse and exploitation.

We have already taken action to ensure employers are not able to flout the rules with little consequence or exploit international workers for costs they were always supposed to pay.

We are now going further, requiring employers in England to prioritise recruiting international care workers who are already here and seeking new sponsorship, before recruiting from overseas.

The new requirements continue government action announced in November to crack down on employers who abuse the visa system; barring those who repeatedly break immigration or employment laws from hiring overseas workers and will help support those workers into new jobs.

The changes announced last year also ban companies from charging workers for the cost of their sponsorship, which has never been intended and led to exploitation, unfair treatment of staff and unsustainable levels of debt in the care sector.

Between July 2022 and December 2024, the government has revoked more than 470 sponsor licences in the care sector to clamp down on abuse and exploitation. More than 39,000 workers have been associated with these sponsors since October 2020.

Changes announced today will also see the minimum salary thresholds updated to reflect the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This will ensure those working on the Skilled Worker visa, including care workers, are paid a minimum of £12.82 per hour.

Health and education occupations, including doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and teachers, will also see their minimum rates increased to reflect the latest national pay scales.

Stephen Kinnock, Minister of State for Care, said:

International care workers play a vital role in our social care workforce. We value their contribution and work supporting vulnerable people across the country every day.

As we crack down on shameful rogue operators exploiting overseas workers here in the UK, we must do all we can to get the victims back into rewarding careers in adult social care.

Prioritising care workers who are already in the UK will get people back to work reducing our reliance on international recruitment, and make sure our social care sector has the care professionals it needs.

The rules come as the government continues implementation of a series of measures to reduce the potential for abuse on the Student and Graduate visa routes.

Further details of the government’s plan to reduce the staggeringly high levels of legal migration seen in recent years will be set out in the government’s forthcoming Immigration White Paper.