Keir Starmer makes big announcement with ‘powerful new legislation’ throughout key speech

The Prime Minister said the new laws will require businesses to carry out extra checks in a key change announced in his latest speech – and it will be put before Parliament later in the year

Keir Starmer has unveiled a “tough new law” aimed at clamping down on illegal employment as he announced plans at a global crime-fighting conference.

The PM laid out his plans saying that first-time employers in flexible roles such as the ‘gig economy’ – spanning jobs from construction to beauty therapy – will soon need to ensure their workers have the right to work in the UK, with legislation hitting Parliament’s agenda later this year. He said: “While the last government was busy with their Rwanda gimmick, they left the door open for illegal working, especially in short-term or zero-hours roles, like construction, or beauty salons.

“While most companies do the responsible thing and carry out right-to-work checks, too many dodgy firms have been exploiting a loophole to skip this process, hiring illegal workers and undercutting honest businesses.”

Starmer warned of stiff penalties under the forthcoming laws. Businesses could receive fines up to £60,000, face up to five years behind bars, and even see their business shut down if they ignore the rules. His comments came as he welcomed delegates from more than 40 nations to the Organised Immigration Crime summit.

During his speech, the PM praised the government’s success in booting out 24,000 people “with no right to be here” since the prior General Election, scoffing that the Tories’ Rwanda plan would have needed “80 years to achieve” similar figures, reports the Mirror.

In his speech, the PM has called for global powers at the summit to take on evil people-smuggling gangs with the same attitude they’d use against terrorists. He said countries need to “combine our resources, share intelligence and tactics and tackle the problem upstream”.

Sir Keir Starmer continued by drawing from his former life as prosecutor: “We’ve got to bring to bear all the powers we have at our disposal in much the same way that we do against terrorism. Now, before I was a politician, I was the Director of Public Prosecution in England and Wales, and we worked across borders, throughout Europe and beyond Europe to foil numerous plots, saving thousands of lives.”

The Labour leader also touched on foiled evil schemes: “In the process, we prevented planes from being blown up across the Atlantic and brought the perpetrators to justice. So I believe we should treat organised immigration crime in exactly the same way.

“I simply don’t believe that organised immigration crime cannot be tackled. So we’ve got to combine our resources, share intelligence and tactics and tackle the problem upstream at every step of the smuggling journey, from North Africa and the Middle East to the high streets of our biggest cities.”

Amid speeches, the government revealed they’d spend £33million to crack down on trafficking operations strewn across Europe, the Western Balkans, Asia and Africa.

Raising the stakes higher, nations including Albania, Vietnam and Iraq are set to work with UK’s allies such as France, the USA and China to deal with the issue.

The PM revealed he was “angry” about the worldwide illegal immigration crisis. Speaking at a summit at London’s Lancaster House, he blasted: “Illegal migration is a massive driver of global insecurity. It undermines our ability to control who comes here, and that makes people angry.”

He added: “It makes me angry, frankly, because it’s unfair on ordinary working people who pay the price – from the cost of hotels, to our public services struggling under the strain. And it’s unfair on the illegal migrants themselves, because these are vulnerable people being ruthlessly exploited by vile gangs.”

Big tech honchos from Meta, X, and TikTok are also working to crack down on the online ads pushing illegal trips. The Home Office is stepping up its game too, launching a campaign on Vietnam’s Zalo app to warn residents about the dangers of people smuggling.

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