People smugglers face being jailed for up to five years for looking up weather forecast under new terror-style laws
TERROR-style laws could see people smugglers jailed for up to five years — just for looking up the Channel weather forecast.
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, introduced to Parliament yesterday, aims to crack down on gangs before they even get the chance to launch small boats.
Anyone who “collects or makes a record of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person organising or preparing for a relevant journey” could be arrested.
A new offence of endangering life at sea would target anyone refusing to be rescued or pushing their way on to overcrowded boats.
The Home Office said it could not publish its estimate of how many arrests this could lead to because of “operational sensitivity”.
The package of measures is predicted to cost £13.6million over ten years.
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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "Over the last six years, criminal smuggling gangs have been allowed to take hold all along our borders, making millions out of small boat crossings.
“This Bill will equip our law enforcement agencies with the powers they need to stop these vile criminals, disrupting their supply chains and bringing more of those who profit from human misery to justice.
“These new counter terror-style powers, including making it easier to seize mobile phones at the border, along with statutory powers for our new Border Security Command.”
Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt, said the new measures would allow enforcement teams to “go further and act faster” when attempting to halt crossings.
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Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, called the bill “weak” and said it only amounted to “minor tinkering”.
He said: “As the National Crime Agency said, an effective removals deterrent is needed to stop the boats, but there is nothing about a returns deterrent for all illegal migrants in Labour’s Bill.
