People-smuggling suspects could face travel bans and social media blackouts under new laws aimed at cracking down on organised immigration crime.
Court orders to restrict the activity of those under investigation for such crimes will be strengthened as part of draft legislation to be introduced in the coming weeks, the Government said.
Suspects could be banned from using a laptop or mobile phone, accessing social media networks, associating with certain people, or accessing their finances under the measures announced by the Home Office.
Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPOs) can already be sought to curb the movement of people involved in organised immigration crime.
But the Government says the measures are not being used to their full effect and plans to introduce new “interim” SCPOs designed to place “immediate” restrictions on suspects’ activity while a full order is considered by the courts.
Police, the National Crime Agency and other law enforcement bodies would be able to apply directly to the High Court for these orders without going through the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the Home Office said.
Breaching an interim order could lead to up to five years in prison.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Dangerous criminal people-smugglers are profiting from undermining our border security and putting lives at risk.
“They cannot be allowed to get away with it.
“Stronger international collaboration has already led to important arrests and action against dangerous gangs over the last few months.
“We will give law enforcement stronger powers they need to pursue and stop more of these vile gang networks.
“Border security is one of the foundations of this Government’s Plan for Change, including making people better off, delivering safer streets and strengthening our NHS, and we will do everything in our power to deliver for working people.”
The change will be included in the Government’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is expected to be introduced to Parliament in the coming weeks.
It comes after figures showed the number of migrants arriving in the UK in 2024 by crossing the English Channel in small boats was up by a quarter on the previous year.
Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour administration, which entered office in July, faced opposition accusations of having “lost control of our borders” as Home Office data suggested 36,816 people made the journey last year.
There are usually more small boat arrivals in the second half of the year because the weather in summer and autumn is generally more favourable, with days on which the wind and wave levels in the Channel are most conducive to crossings referred to as “red days”.
Home Office sources said there were 88 such days in the second half of 2024 compared with 50 in the second half of 2023, citing this as the key reason for the difference in the number of arrivals between those periods.
