Government crackdown on firms employing illegal immigrants

Rogue employers who give jobs to illegal immigrants will be hit with the "full force" of the government machine ministers have warned.

Immigration minister James Brokenshire said the Government was determined to act against businesses which were denying work to British nationals and driving down wages, The Telegraph reported on Monday.

His comments came as The Times reported that immigration officers were preparing to mount a wave of raids this autumn targeting building sites, care homes and cleaning contractors.

"Rogue employers who give jobs to illegal migrants are denying work to UK citizens and legal migrants and helping drive down wages," Brokenshire said.

"Experience tells us that employers who are prepared to cheat employment rules are also likely to breach health and safety rules and pay insufficient tax.

"That's why our new approach will be to use the full force of government machinery to hit them from all angles and take away the unfair advantage enjoyed by those who employ illegal migrants."

His intervention came after Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the huge influx of migrants coming from Africa was threatening to undermine social cohesion and living standards across Europe.

Hammond said the continent could not absorb "millions" of Africans and called for the overhaul of EU laws to ensure those coming simply to find a better way of life could be returned to their own countries.