Arrests as food delivery apps vow to tighten checks in crackdown on illegal migrant workers

Food delivery companies in the UK are to bring in new enhanced security checks including facial recognition to prevent migrants working illegally.

Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat have brought in the measures after coming under pressure from the government amid reports of migrants working illegally delivering food in central London and elsewhere.

But the three companies were summoned for talks with the Home Office after measures they had introduced earlier this year were still failing to filter out illegal workers.

At the same time, a police operation in central London lasting several hours led to a number of arrests of migrants suspected of working illegally for delivery companies.

Border Security and Asylum Minister Angela Eagle and Employment Rights Minister Justin Madders raised concerns of illicit account-sharing leading to illegal working.

The strengthened industry standard is to be rolled out in the next 90 days, with Deliveroo and Uber Eats having enhanced the quantity and sophistication of their respective verification checks. Just Eat will increase the rate of similar checks from monthly to daily.

The companies agreed to increase the use of facial verification and fraud detection technology to ensure only registered account holders can work off their platforms. The aim is to stop people with no right to work in the UK from paying delivery drivers to access their apps and take orders.

Ms Eagle said has promised the government is taking “a zero-tolerance approach to illegal working across the board”, which she said “undercuts honest business, hits people’s wages and plays into the hands of the people-smuggling gangs”.

She said arrests linked to illegal working have increased by 51 per cent nationwide. Footage released by the Home Office shows police and Immigration Enforcement officers arresting delivery drivers suspected of working illegally in their homes.

“I welcome Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats’ pledge to increase facial verification checks following today’s round-table," Ms Eagle added. "We will keep a close eye on their progress and continue discussions."

The opposition Conservative Party's shadow home secretary Chris Philp is calling for a clampdown on illegal working at Home Office-run hotels, many of which he says have become "de facto hubs for illegal working".

He is also calling for enforcement against any company failing to uphold immigration law and the removal of all illegal workers from delivery platforms.

“Taxpayers are funding a delivery driver racket," he said. “Labour promised to crack down on illegal working, but their hotels are running a two-for-one deal on immigration loopholes and gig economy fraud. It’s time to shut it down.”

It comes as new figures show more than 19,000 migrants have arrived in the UK by small boats so far this year, up by 44 per cent on the 13,272 who crossed at the same point last year.

Several French politicians, including former interior minister Gerald Darmanin, have said opportunities for migrants to work illegally in the UK encourage those attempting to cross the Channel.

Under pressure from the anti-immigration Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been at pains to lower irregular immigration levels.

The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, also contains measures aimed at tackling illegal working.

Companies hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors including construction, food delivery and beauty salons will be legally required to carry out checks to confirm that anyone working in their name is eligible to work in the UK.

After the agreeing to bolster checks on illegal workers, Deliveroo said that despite “industry-leading measures” it has put in place over the past year, “criminals continue to seek new ways to abuse the system”.

“We have committed to further strengthening our approach, increasing daily facial recognition checks, and we welcome the industry’s commitment to do the same,” Deliveroo said.

Uber Eats pledged to “continue to invest in industry-leading tools to detect illegal work and remove fraudulent accounts”.

Just Eat said it “fully supports the government’s efforts to tackle illegal working and we are continuing to invest significant resources to protect the integrity of our network”.