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Illegal migrants to face clothing and mouth searches for phones at UK ports
New law allows port officers to conduct physical searches on migrants to detect phones and SIM cards aiding smuggling investigations, as Channel crossings hit record levels this year.
- On Monday, the government announced police at British ports can require illegal migrants to remove coats and allow mouth inspections, with Royal Assent expected soon.
- Record levels of small-boat Channel crossings from France this year mean criminal gangs frequently recruit migrants via phone contacts and social media, while the Labour government toughens policies to counter Reform UK as immigration tops British voters' concerns.
- Previously phone searches were only possible after arrest, and the Home Office said the new powers let officers collect information faster to support investigations dismantling criminal gangs suspected of smuggling migrants across the Channel.
- Rights groups criticised the government’s tougher stance as scapegoating migrants, with Sile Reynolds, Head of Asylum Advocacy at Freedom from Torture, calling the searches a "dystopian act of brutality".
- Against a backdrop of record crossings this year, the move reflects a tougher Labour stance designed to speed investigations and dismantle smuggling networks amid Reform UK's momentum.
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The British Navy police will be able to ask illegal migrants to detonate and be subjected to oral perjuries on arrival at British ports so that officials can search for mobile phones or SIM cards and collect information about...
·Romania
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Illegal migrants to face clothing and mouth searches for phones at UK ports
Police in Britain will be able to require illegal migrants to remove their coats and allow mouth searches at British ports so officers can look for mobile phones or SIM cards and gather intelligence on their journey, the government said on Monday.
·United Kingdom
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Total News Sources16
Leaning Left3Leaning Right4Center5Last UpdatedBias Distribution42% Center
Bias Distribution
- 42% of the sources are Center
42% Center
L 25%
C 42%
R 33%
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