Illegal migrants to have mouths searched for SIM cards under new police powers
Why illegal migrants will have their mouths searched for SIM cards
- British police are set to gain enhanced powers at ports to compel illegal migrants to remove outer garments and undergo mouth searches.
- These measures aim to uncover mobile phones or SIM cards, crucial for gathering intelligence on criminal networks involved in smuggling migrants across the Channel.
- The Home Office confirmed that children could be subject to these searches if deemed necessary.
- The new powers will allow officers to collect information faster, as previous mobile phone searches were only possible after a migrant's arrest.
- The policy reflects the Labour government's hardening stance on immigration and has drawn criticism from human rights groups, who describe it as a 'dystopian act of brutality'.