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Home Office in the media

This blog post was published under the 2015-2024 Conservative Administration

https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2017/08/09/home-office-in-the-media-9-august-2017/

Home Office in the media: 9 August 2017

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Leading stories

Police arrest

In the news today there are reports on police stop-and-search powers and the conviction of two people smugglers stopped by Border Force officers in Northern France.

Stop-and-search

The Times carries an opinion piece written by the Home Secretary in which she says that reform of stop-and-search was “long overdue” and now use of the power is more intelligence-led, more transparent and more effective. She expresses support for officers who use it correctly. The Times and Sun report that the Home Secretary has backed the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick who said in interviews and in an opinion piece of her own that she wanted her officers to have the confidence to carry out more checks to tackle knife crime.

The Home Secretary's opinion piece can be found on our blog.

People smuggling convictions

The Telegraph, Mail, ExpressTimes and Sun report that two people have been convicted of unlawful immigration after trying to smuggle 12 Vietnamese people into the UK from Calais. The papers report how Katy Bethel and Aaron Harris were stopped by Border Force officers in Coquelles trying to conceal the five women, four men and three children behind tyres in a van. A statement Immigration Enforcement's Criminal and Financial Investigations team is below.

Assistant Director of Immigration Enforcement's Criminal and Financial Investigations team, David Fairclough, said:

Harris and Bethel initially claimed to be having a day at the beach, but in reality their visit to France had a much more sinister purpose.

 

The pair gave little or no thought to the safety of their human cargo. Crammed into a tight space, had the vehicle been involved in any kind of accident the consequences could have been tragic.

 

People smuggling is a crime which puts vulnerable people into dangerous situations in the name of profit. This case shows my officers will not hesitate to bring those involved before the courts.

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