Social media users who tout illegal routes into UK face up to five years in prison

Social media users touting illegal passage into the UK will face up to five years in prison as the Home Office continues its attempts to block small boat crossings.

On Monday, ministers will invoke part of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act passed last year to block adverts telling migrants how to bypass immigration controls.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) Online Contact Center will scan thousands of social media accounts as part of the campaign.

The latest measures form part of a wider effort to curb illegal immigration and combat the threat posed by Reform UK at a time when approval ratings for Nigel Farage’s party are rising; Border Security Minister Alex Norris says his message to people smugglers is: “We’re after you.”

Immigration authorities already have the power to target social media users, but will only do so if they can prove that online content directly leads to immigration offending.

The NCA’s work saw the closure of more than 10,000 social media accounts, pages and posts linked to human trafficking last year; This was a record according to the government.

But the new offense will target social media users who post ads before migrants arrive on UK soil.

It is thought that so-called “service agencies” – intermediaries that connect migrants with facilitators for small boat crossings and other routes – could be targeted by new forces.

Speaking to the Press Association, Mr Norris said: “Social media ads promoting the corrupt promise of living and working in the UK are truly disgusting.

“To the traffickers selling this content, whether you’re selling your online business through ‘gold package deals’, sourcing boat equipment or scouting routes, we’re coming after you.

“I will not stop until we restore order and control at our borders.”

A social media post, thought to be criminal and seen by the PA, advertised “get to London UK safely – by truck” within two hours from France.

Another TikTok post, written in Pashto, offered a one-hour “jet boat” from France to London for $4,000, according to a government translation.

The third post, also a Facebook comment written in Pashto, included a phone number saying “If anyone wants to go to Turkey, Iran, Iraq, France, Germany, Italy, London, Austria, Switzerland.”

During his visit to Ethiopia this week, the foreign secretary will unveil plans for closer cooperation on illegal immigration, following UK government assessments showing an increasing share of arrivals via the Channel and the Mediterranean are coming from the Horn of Africa.

The Foreign Office said the new collaboration will include job creation partnerships, backed by UK investment, to tackle the economic drivers of illegal migration, as well as new partnerships with Ethiopian authorities to tackle criminal trafficking gangs and accelerate returns.

The Secretary of State will this week sign a Joint Development Agreement to take forward two power transmission projects worth more than $400 million, developed by Gridworks, a British International Investment company that distributes UK investments across Africa, providing further funding and support to Ethiopian law enforcement agencies.

The latest measures come just days after the home secretary admitted more migrants were arriving in Britain than were being deported to France under the government’s flagship ‘one in, one out’ scheme – a plan aimed at reducing the number of people making the dangerous crossing.

While approximately 350 asylum seekers were brought to the UK from France within the scope of the program that started in September last year, only 281 people were deported.

So far this year, a total of 933 people have crossed the English Channel on small boats and reached the UK. No one has embarked on this dangerous journey since January 20th.

Nearly 65,000 people have traveled to Britain since Labor was elected in July 2024, despite being elected on a promise to “crush gangs” and block small boat crossings.

Ministers were forced to unveil sweeping reforms to the asylum system last year as critics increasingly said the government had failed to grasp the issue.

In November, Ms Mahmood announced plans to rewrite how Britain grants asylum to those fleeing conflict and unrest; He insisted that an overhaul was necessary because “the pace and scale of change is destabilizing communities”.

He has promised to introduce a bill that would change the way the right to family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is applied in immigration cases; This means that in future only those with close relatives such as children or parents will be able to stay in the UK.

The home secretary also announced plans to change the law so that multiple attempts to challenge a refusal of asylum will no longer be allowed.

And just this week, Sir Keir Starmer, during a trip to China, announced a deal with Chinese authorities aimed at preventing boat engines manufactured in the country from falling into the hands of people smugglers.

Last year, 60 percent of the boats crossing the English Channel had Chinese-made engines.

But the government has also faced criticism for copying Reform UK after it launched a new TikTok account earlier this year, showing videos boasting about deportations and arrests and sharing illegal work raids on social media.