Muammar Al Khadafi

Five more immigration arrests in the South West, this time in Cornwall, once again serve to highlight how the restaurant and takeaway industry have become a haven for illegal workers.

UK Border Agency officers first swooped on the Phuket Thai restaurant in Cheltenham Place, Newquay where they detained a 31 year old Thai man who was working in breach of his visa conditions.

Another raid on the Wah Hing on East Street, also in Newquay, turned up three illegal workers. A 25 year old waitress from China who was a failed asylum seeker, a 24 year old chef who had overstayed on an expired visa, and a 17 year old chef, also from China, who had no right to work.

Finally, a raid on the Ashik Tandoori at St Merryn holiday village netted a 32 year old Bangladeshi chef who had overstayed his visa.

All save for the 17 year old chef have been detained in immigration detention pending removal from the country. The 17 year old from China was released pending an immigration application.

"We will not tolerate illegal working which undercuts wages and exploits vulnerable workers" said Kenny Chapman of UKBA.

Sadly, we will continue to be a mecca for illegal workers until stiffer penalties are imposed on the businesses who employ them. If we are serious about the practice then we must make the risks and penalties far more of a deterrent.

Instead of fines of "up to £10,000" which in many cases are never even paid, perhaps employers should be threatened with having their business seized and being barred from setting up another business in the UK for a period of 5 years. Should they themselves be foreign then perhaps also they should run the risk of deportation for flouting our laws.

Until we make the employing of illegals totally unattractive to businesses then the UKBA can arrest as many illegal workers as they like, there will always be more to fill the gap and always a business willing to give them a job.