Reform UK proposes fining firms 10% of global revenues and jailing bosses over illegal workers

Reform UK, which wants to reduce immigration, has said it will introduce the toughest penalties in the world for employing illegal migrants. The party's home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, will announce the plan in a speech later today. Under the proposals, companies would be fined 10% of their global revenues, and executives would face prison. Employers would be held responsible even if they were unaware of a worker's immigration status.

In a statement to the Daily Express, Yusuf said that under a Reform government Britain would have the harshest punishments in the world for illegal employment, and pointed to businesses whose entire model relies on profiting from undocumented work. Currently, firms that employ someone without the right to work and fail to carry out proper checks can be fined up to £60,000 for each illegal worker.

The announcement follows a government crackdown on illegal working in the delivery sector. The Home Office said in July that it had arrested 10 Evri workers who were on immigration bail. Figures published in January showed that visits and arrests linked to illegal working reached their highest level since records began in 2019. There were 12,791 visits in 2025, up 57% from 8,122 the previous year, targeting businesses including nail bars, car washes, barbers and takeaway shops.

A Home Office spokesperson said illegal working undermines honest business, exploits vulnerable people and fuels organised immigration crime. The department says it is closing loopholes by extending right-to-work checks to the gig economy and delivery sector. Offenders face fines of up to £60,000 per illegal worker, business closures, licence revocations and prison sentences of up to five years.

In other political developments, Jewish leaders have turned down a meeting with Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a former antisemitic internet troll selected as a Conservative council candidate. Bonehill-Paine later withdrew his candidacy, but Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has stood by him and appointed him as a party adviser. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper urged the Conservatives to "think again", saying she was shocked by the decision.

Ministers have also defended the release of PC Andrew Harper's killers under the government's early prisoner release scheme. Justice minister Jake Richards acknowledged the family's "unimaginable pain" but said difficult decisions were needed to avoid a collapse of the prison system. The Ministry of Justice confirmed it is not actively considering an inquiry into Jeffrey Epstein's activities in the UK.