Moygashel incident comes amid backdrop of illegal migrant crackdown
The saga comes amid plans for a “nationwide blitz” to target migrants working illegally.
Efforts are being made to deter people from seeking to reach the UK from France. Ministers hope to tackle the “pull factors” attracting migrants to the UK alongside the deal struck by Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron to send some people who reach England in small boats straight back to France.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said there had already been a “major surge in immigration enforcement activity” but officials have indicated that will be further increased in illegal working “hotspots”.
Ms Cooper said: “This new pilot agreement with France is extremely important and allows us for the first time to return people who have paid to travel here illegally, and will sit alongside our wider joint enforcement action, including disrupting supply chains to seize boats and engines, shutting down social media accounts, and targeting finances.
“Since last summer, we have returned over 30,000 people with no right to be in the UK and a major surge in immigration enforcement activity, with a 51% increase in the number of illegal working arrests.”