New laws will make it a crime to advertise transport across the Channel in a small boat, with offenders risking up to five years in prison. The legislation provides another tool for authorities to crack down on criminal gangs charging would-be migrants thousands of pounds for the opportunity to set sail in an overcrowded and flimsy dinghy. It will also become an offence to advertise fake travel documents or black-market jobs.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Selling the false promise of a safe journey to the UK and a life in this country – whether on or offline – simply to make money, is nothing short of immoral. These criminals have no issue with leading migrants to life-threatening situations using brazen tactics on social media. We are determined to do everything we can to stop them – wherever they operate.”

Professional criminal gangs are using social media services such as TikTok to promise migrants a new life in the UK.

More than 25,000 people have made the journey across the Channel in small boats already this year, including 898 on Wednesday alone.

Facilitating illegal migration is already a crime but a new amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill will be designed to undermine the gangs’ business model by targeting their advertising.

The Home Office says many people who come to the UK and end up working illegally are sold a false narrative about life in this country.

Albanian people smugglers used social media platforms to promote £12,000 “package deals” to Britain, which they claimed included accommodation and employment upon arrival.

Members of a south Wales-based gang, convicted in November 2024 after smuggling thousands of migrants across Europe, promoted their services using media videos featuring migrants who made it to the UK unlawfully

Another network operated by Preston-based smuggler Amanj Hasan Zada, later jailed for 17 years, also posted videos of migrants thanking him for helping them.

The proposed measure will also make it a crime to post online content that encourages someone to break UK immigration law in exchange for financial incentives. An example of this would be someone being paid by a people smuggler to post content on social media which promotes illegal journeys to the UK.

Rob Jones, National Crime Agency Director General (Operations), said: “We know many of the people-smuggling networks risking lives transporting people to the UK promote their services to migrants using social media.

“The majority of migrants arriving in the UK will have engaged with smugglers in this way. This is why we work with social media companies to target smugglers’ accounts, and we’ve increased the pace of takedowns.

“These proposed new powers will offer UK law enforcement additional options to target criminal gangs and their business models as they use online platforms for their criminality.”

Joanne Jakymec, a Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “The CPS won’t hesitate to charge cases where we have evidence of suspects using social media to advertise small boat crossings, fake travel documents, or illegal working opportunities.”

Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, said: “Labour is scrambling to appear tough on illegal immigration, but their latest move is too little, too late. With over 25,000 crossings this year making it the worst year on record, it is clear this is not a serious plan to stop the boats.

“Tinkering at the edges won’t fix the problem. Labour still has no clear plan to deter illegal entry, no effective enforcement and no strategy to speed up removals. This is a panicked attempt to look tough after months of doing nothing.

“The only clear and enforceable plan is the Conservative Deportation Bill, a no-nonsense strategy that allows us to detain illegal arrivals immediately and remove them without delay. The British public deserve focused action, not more of Labour’s dithering.”