Migrants Using Food Delivery Apps Days After Crossing Channel Sparks Outrage as Tories Demand Immediate Deportation

Keir Starmer is under pressure to toughen up on illegal working after it emerged that migrants who’ve just arrived by small boat are taking jobs through food delivery platforms within days of landing in the UK. Tory ministers are demanding that anyone caught working illegally should have their asylum claim automatically thrown out and face deportation without delay.

Footage and reports have surfaced showing new arrivals heading out from taxpayer-funded hotels to make deliveries for big names like Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats. The idea that people who entered the country illegally are managing to land work almost immediately has ignited fury, especially since they’re doing so while living in accommodation paid for by the British public, reported the Express.

Kemi Badenoch did not mince her words. “This is a loophole that rewards illegality, protects perpetrators, and mocks hard-working taxpayers,” she said. “If you come here illegally, take advantage of our asylum system, and then break our laws by illegally working – your asylum claim must be rejected, and you should be on the next plane home.”

She added that under her leadership, the Conservatives “will never allow Britain to become a soft touch” for people looking to exploit the system.

The Home Office struck a deal back in July with delivery firms to try and stem the tide of abuse. Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats agreed to share the locations of asylum seeker hotels to help prevent their platforms being used by those not authorised to work. It was an attempt to crack down on a growing trend where legal delivery drivers were letting migrants use their accounts, making it easier for them to work undetected.

However, the Tories have blasted the agreement, saying it doesn’t go far enough. The loophole around account sharing still exists, and according to them, the deal “does absolutely nothing to tackle the problem” in any meaningful way.

Legally, asylum seekers are barred from working during the first 12 months after making a claim unless they receive a decision sooner. But recent footage, including sightings of couriers leaving a newly converted migrant hotel in Canary Wharf, has sparked fresh anger.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said he was appalled by what he saw when visiting one of the hotels. “It was a taxpayer-funded base of operations for an underground courier cartel operating right under this government’s nose,” he said. “Illegal working is a pull factor sold by smugglers as a reward to break into our country. Anyone who plays the system should have their status stripped, wages confiscated, and be deported.”

Delivery accounts, meanwhile, are reportedly being bought and sold on social media, with some going for as little as £40. These accounts allow people with no right to work in the UK to slip through the net and earn money under the radar.

In response, delivery firms say they are tightening checks. The Home Office said thousands of unauthorised workers have already been removed from the platforms. Companies have pledged to roll out more facial recognition and anti-fraud tech to ensure only the registered account holders can work.

Firms that fail to carry out proper vetting could be fined up to £60,000 per offence.