Channel migrants working as delivery drivers within hours of arriving – report

Channel migrants are working as fast-food delivery riders within hours of arriving in the UK, according to an investigation by The Sun newspaper.

The newspaper said Deliveroo and Just Eat delivery accounts were being offered to migrants “within 10 minutes of asking” through social media groups.

The Sun said its investigators and undercover reporters had found that migrants staying in asylum hotels across the country were joining dozens of social media groups dedicated to offering food delivery accounts for rent.

According to the newspaper’s investigation, migrants were paying as little as £40 a week for login details.

Migrants worked 15-hour shifts using their hotels as a base for their bikes, bags and uniforms and could make hundreds of pounds a week with guarantees from account dealers that they would not be caught.

The Sun said an undercover reporter posing as a small-boat arrival from Afghanistan was “quickly flooded with offers from all over the country”.

It published photographs alongside the story that it said were of men leaving migrant hotels wearing branded delivery bags on their backs.

On Tuesday, shadow home secretary Chris Philp posted a message on X saying he made an unannounced visit to an asylum hotel last Friday and found “clear evidence” of illegal working for Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats.

In a letter to all three firms, Mr Philp wrote: “These illegal immigrants are not allowed to work as delivery drivers while their asylum claim is pending, but when I looked in the bike store in the hotel, I saw delivery bags for Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats on the bikes.”

He continued: “Please can you commit to removing any driver … as a courier who does not have the right to work in the UK, including at this hotel site and elsewhere. I would be grateful if you could set out what further specific steps you will take (above what you currently do, which is evidently not working) in relation to this site and more generally to prevent illegal working.”

He added: “This is important, as the ability to work illegally is a pull factor for illegal immigration and by allowing this to happen on your platform you are fuelling the illegal immigration crisis.”

A Downing Street spokesman said border security minister Angela Eagle will meet food delivery companies next week, adding that the Government will not stand for the “racket”.

He said: “It’s right that spotlight is being shone on this racket. It undermines honest businesses and undercuts local wages, and the British public rightly won’t stand for it, and neither will this Government.”

He said the Government has stepped up illegal working arrests and is strengthening the law to confirm immigration status and right to work.

“Minister Eagle is meeting food delivery companies next week, where she will address this issue and to drive further joint working on tackling illegal work.”

A Just Eat spokesperson said: “Just Eat is committed to being a responsible partner and supporting the local communities we operate in. To uphold this commitment, we set clear standards and requirements for those who deliver on our behalf.

We have a dedicated team in place who ensure Deliveroo does not work with riders who don’t have the right to work in the UK

“We are continuously strengthening our approach to ensure anyone who delivers through Just Eat’s platform has the right to work in the UK.

“Last year, Just Eat introduced a new mechanism requiring couriers to inform us that they are using substitutes and for these substitutes to complete right-to-work checks.

“We have now rolled out the next phase of substitute checks with enhanced biometric verification. Couriers are randomly prompted to complete a facial recognition test, ensuring the individual using the account’s facial data matches the right-to-work documentation held on our system. Any couriers who fail these checks are removed from the JET network.

“We welcomed the Government announcement earlier this year to extend right-to-work checks to all industries to tackle illegal immigration. We continue to work with the Home Office on this matter.”

A spokesman for Deliveroo said: “We have zero tolerance for any misuse of our platform and we will offboard any accounts which fail to meet their legal obligations when working with us.

“We have a dedicated team in place who ensure Deliveroo does not work with riders who don’t have the right to work in the UK.

“We take our responsibility extremely seriously and are consistently strengthening our controls against misuse of our platform, with further measures in development.

“All riders, including substitutes, must complete right-to-work checks before onboarding with Deliveroo, which we are robust in monitoring with daily identity verification and most recently, additional checks when a rider logs in using a new device.”

An Uber spokesman said: “All couriers who use the Uber Eats app must undergo checks to ensure they have a legal right to work in the UK.

“Working with the Home Office and the rest of industry, Uber Eats has launched new detection tools to crack down on anyone attempting to work illegally on our platform. As a result, we are removing fraudulent accounts and we are constantly reviewing and improving our processes.”