Zia Yusuf Faces Mockery Over Duplicate Legislation

Zia Yusuf has been mocked after apparently announcing plans to introduce a crackdown on illegal working that already exists.

Reform UK’s home affairs spokesman said his party would introduce a so-called “Deliveroo Law” if it wins the next election.

He said it was aimed at stopping British firms from employing immigrants who do not have the legal right to work in this country.

Unveiling the plan on Thursday, Yusuf said: “Under this legislation, company directors will be held personally responsible and criminally liable for systemic illegal working within their businesses, regardless of whether they claim personal knowledge of individual breaches.

“If a company accumulates material immigration breaches, or fails to demonstrate compliant right to work checks, its executives will face up to five years in prison.”

However, the government website makes clear that sanction is already in place for bosses who employ illegal workers.

It says: “You can be sent to jail for five years and have to pay an unlimited fine if you’re found guilty of employing someone who you knew or had reasonable cause to believe did not have the right to work in the UK.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “Employers who break the law face severe consequences, including fines of up to £60,000 per illegal worker, business closures, licence revocations and prison sentences of up to five years.”

Max Wilkinson, the Lib Dem home affairs spokesman posted on X: “Oh dear Zia Yusuf! It’s already illegal and the offence carries a prison sentence of up to five years. What a pillock!”

Labour chair Bridget Phillipson said: “This is Reform’s latest desperate attempt to deflect attention from the ever-growing catalogue of scandals engulfing Nigel Farage and his party.

“This Labour government is already cracking down on illegal working. Since July 2024, illegal working enforcement activity has reached record levels, with arrests up 83% and raids up 77%.

“Rather than trying to distract the public, Farage needs to come clean and explain why he did not declare his secret £5million ‘gift’ from a crypto billionaire. The public deserve better than a party who clearly think the rules don’t apply to them.”

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