LONDON: The UK government on Tuesday launched a new TikTok account showing videos of the arrests and deportations of migrants as it announced a record number of detentions for illegal working.
Called “Secure Borders UK”, the account also shows clips of raids on properties by immigration enforcement teams.
It vowed a “detention expansion that will see thousands removed from the UK. And it´s just getting started”.
Meanwhile, the interior ministry said raids had led to a rise in the arrests of “illegal migrants working in the black economy” since the Labour party came to power in July 2024.
Immigration has become a central political issue in the UK, as the government seeks to stem a wave of irregular migrants which has fuelled rising anger on the far-right.
In response to undocumented asylum seekers making the perilous journey across the Channel to Britain in small boats, Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to “smash the gangs” of people smugglers.
2025 saw the second highest number of irregular migrants arrive on British shores since the crossings began in 2018.
The new TikTok account had almost 2,000 followers within the first couple of hours. But charity Freedom From Torture branded it as “populist, dehumanising social media content designed to distract and divide us”.
