Over 24,000 people have been sent back from the United Kingdom since July 2024 for offences of illegal immigration, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Monday. The figure is the highest rate of returns in the past eight years, the Prime Minister stated.
The Prime Minister had criticized illegal immigration on several occasions, saying, “The scale of illegal immigration annoys me.” He cited the negative impact on the ability of the UK to control its borders, the strain on public services and on those on the work rolls, and the exploitation of vulnerable immigrants by organized criminal groups.
According to the statistics released during the summit, from July 5, 2024, up to the date of the summit, the 22nd of March, 2025, a total of 24,103 individuals had been returned. These include 6,339 forced returns of individuals with no right of abode here, 3,594 foreign national offenders, and 6,781 asylum-related returns. The government also organized 46 charter flights to African, Asian, European, and South American countries. The statistics represent the highest number of returns since the period from January to September 2017, which had 25,225 returns.
Starmer attributed the increase to the re-deployment of Home Office officials responsible for handling returns and enforcing illegal work controls. Enforcement officers’ illegal work visits increased by 40% compared with last year, with 4,779 arrests. Furthermore, 1,508 civil penalty notices were issued to employers, with up to £60,000 now being the maximum amount that can be issued for each illegal worker. The Prime Minister stressed a “hard graft” agenda of intensified international cooperation and stricter enforcement action. Bilateral arrangements with France, Germany, Italy, and Balkan countries, the Government signed since taking power. Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt is negotiating further arrangements with the aim of enhancing cooperation for policing, intelligence, and border agencies around the world. Joint investigations with the National Crime Agency already carried out already resulted in the arrests of key players behind people-smuggling networks.
“Immigration crime funds the deplorable people-smuggling gangs that traffic in human misery, defy our borders and endanger the economic security of Britain,” Starmer stated. He continued, “This government is reclaiming control, getting on with the gritty work of delivering results, working with our partners across the globe on destroying these gangs and safeguarding our borders.”
Starmer said the UK was no longer a “soft touch” and vowed “no gimmicks, no promises, but real action for British security.” He also referred to the proposed new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which would see the powers of seizure of mobile phones for tracing the smuglers.
The summit, at which representatives of more than 40 nations and organizations took part, underlines the determination of the administration to fight illegal immigration through international coordination and tough domestic enforcement.
(source :business-standard.com)