New Legislation Puts the Squeeze on Alleged Human Traffickers with Phone and Travel Restrictions

Individuals suspected of human trafficking will encounter travel restrictions, social media suspensions, and limitations on mobile devices under new legislation, as announced by the administration.

Officials intend to implement “temporary” Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPOs) to impose immediate limitations on suspects’ actions while the full order is reviewed by the judiciary.

This announcement follows statistics indicating that the number of migrants arriving by way of the English Channel in small boats last year increased by one-quarter – exceeding 7,000 – compared to 2023.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that enhanced powers were essential to combat the “atrocious gang networks” – however, shadow home secretary Chris Philp criticized the measures as “ridiculous” and ineffective as deterrents.

According to the proposals revealed by the Home Office, suspects may be prohibited from utilizing laptops or mobile phones, engaging with social media platforms, mingling with specific individuals, or managing their finances.

SCPOs are already obtainable to restrict the activities of those involved in organized immigration offenses. Nonetheless, the government noted that these measures have not been utilized to their complete potential, prompting plans for the introduction of the new “temporary” orders.

Law enforcement agencies, including the police and the National Crime Agency, would be permitted to apply directly to the High Court for these orders without passing through the Crown Prosecution Service, as stated by the Home Office.

Violating a temporary order could result in a sentence of up to five years’ imprisonment.

These reforms will be part of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill slated for introduction in parliament within the next few weeks.

Cooper remarked: “Dangerous criminal human traffickers are exploiting our border security weaknesses and jeopardizing lives.

“They must not be permitted to evade accountability.

“We shall empower law enforcement with the necessary authority to track down and dismantle more of these heinous gang operations.”

Philp deemed the proposals “ridiculous” and asserted that the government ought to reinstate the discontinued Rwanda initiative, which was initiated under the Conservative party and aimed to relocate some asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda.

He remarked: “Labour has the audacity to assert they are tough on people smuggling networks – they opposed increased sentences for these specific smuggling networks during the last parliament.”

He further added that “a deterrent for removals would have effectively halted the boats – but Labour cancelled Rwanda before it could even commence.”

Concurrently, Sir David Davis, the ex-Conservative cabinet member, labeled the measures announced by the Labour government as “unduly stringent”.

This follows after the English Channel experienced its most lethal year recorded last year. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a UN body monitoring the death toll during Channel crossings, reported to BBC News that 78 individuals perished while attempting the journey.

The most recent tragedy on 29 December resulted in three individuals losing their lives while trying to cross the Channel in a small vessel, according to the French coastguard.

The Refugee Council indicated that small boats utilized for crossing the Channel were “increasingly unsafe”, with a rising number of individuals aboard each craft.

“This development is almost certainly a consequence of UK and French government efforts to disrupt the criminal organizations that profit from perilous journeys, with enforcement being the main strategy employed,” the charity stated.

Preliminary Home Office statistics released on New Year’s Day revealed that 36,816 individuals reached Britain via small boats in 2024, an increase of a quarter from 2023 (29,437).

Individuals from Afghanistan constituted the largest group of arrivals in the initial nine months of 2024, accounting for 17% of the overall number who had come by the end of September. Iranians followed as the second-largest group (13%), succeeded by Vietnamese and Syrians (12%).

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously mentioned that his administration “inherited a very challenging situation” with unprecedented numbers of migrants in the first half of the previous year “because the entire focus prior to the election was on a gimmick, the Rwanda gimmick, rather than focusing sufficiently on dismantling the gangs orchestrating this abhorrent trade”.