Government Warns Rogue Firms Against Employing Illegal Immigrants

The Associated Press
The Associated Press

The British government is determined to act against any and all rogue employers hiring illegal immigrants over bonafide local workers. Immigration minister James Brokenshire said businesses denying work to British nationals and driving down wages can expect to be targeted.

His comments to The Times outlined plans for immigration officers to mount a fresh wave of raids this autumn hitting building sites, care homes and cleaning contractors.

“Rogue employers who give jobs to illegal migrants are denying work to UK citizens and legal migrants and helping drive down wages,” Mr Brokenshire said.

“Experience tells us that employers who are prepared to cheat employment rules are also likely to breach health and safety rules and pay insufficient tax.

“That’s why our new approach will be to use the full force of government machinery to hit them from all angles and take away the unfair advantage enjoyed by those who employ illegal migrants.”

Brokenshire’s proposed crackdown was directed at rogue companies but appears to be part of a wider heightening of Government rhetoric against all illegal immigrants given the chaos at Calais.

Over the weekend, Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary, was accused of scaremongering after warning that millions of “marauding” African migrants pose a threat to the EU’s standard of living and social structure.

Speaking in Singapore, Hammond said illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa threaten the European Union’s living standards and its social structure, adding the bloc was unable to take in millions of people seeking a new life.

Steve Symonds of Amnesty International UK denounced his comments. He told the Daily Telegraph the Government had a duty to protect people fleeing conflicts and brutal regimes.

“With countries like Lebanon, Ethiopia and Chad hosting far more refugees than the UK and other European countries, the Foreign Secretary’s mean-spirited response is shameful.”

Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com

 

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