Suella Braverman to target 'crooked' immigration lawyers

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has vowed to measurement up efforts to bring "crooked" migration lawyers to justice.

It comes aft reports immoderate firms are offering to taxable mendacious asylum claims for a fee.

A caller taskforce, which has been carrying retired preliminary enactment for a fewer months, has officially been launched.

The Home Office said it would assistance physique stronger grounds bases to enactment prosecutions.

But the Law Society said the Home Office was focusing connected "a tiny number of lawyers" alternatively than the "significant backlogs successful asylum claims".

The organisation, which represents solicitors successful England and Wales, said the indispensable powers were already successful spot to woody with migration advisers engaged successful misconduct.

David McNeill, from the Law Society, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the taskforce has existed for months and the announcement "looks similar a spot of lawyer-bashing".

Labour's shadiness justness caput Steve Reed said the announcement was "too small excessively late" and the "buck stops" with the Conservatives, accusing them of having "sat idly by for 13 years portion amerciable migration has spun retired of control".

The Home Office said the Professional Enablers Taskforce, for which determination is nary caller funding, brought unneurotic regulatory bodies, instrumentality enforcement teams and different authorities departments.

It said determination had already been referrals to the constabulary wherever transgression enactment was suspected.

The section gave the illustration of a lawsuit wherever an migration steadfast was linked to 1 of the astir wanted quality traffickers, which had present been referred to police.

Last week the ineligible watchdog, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, suspended 3 ineligible firms who were caught offering to taxable fake asylum claims.

It came aft an probe by the Daily Mail alleged immoderate companies agreed to assistance an undercover newsman posing arsenic an economical migrant taxable a mendacious application, utilizing a fabricated backstory of trafficking oregon torture, successful speech for thousands of pounds.

Those recovered blameworthy of helping radical stay successful the state by fraudulent means could look beingness imprisonment, the authorities says.

The maximum condemnation for assisting unlawful migration is already beingness imprisonment nether the Immigration Act 1971.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority prohibits lawyers from deceiving courts, and immoderate enactment of dishonesty oregon deficiency of integrity whitethorn effect successful them being struck off.

The Home Office said the taskforce had besides developed caller grooming for unit who enactment successful the migration strategy to assistance them place and study fishy activity.

The location caput is chairing a roundtable gathering with the lord chancellor, Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner aboriginal to reiterate the government's absorption connected prosecuting lawyers who assistance taxable mendacious claims.

Ms Braverman said: "Crooked migration lawyers indispensable beryllium rooted retired and brought to justice.

"While the bulk of lawyers enactment with integrity - we cognize that immoderate are lying to assistance amerciable migrants crippled the system. It is not close oregon just connected those who play by the rules."

Conservative Party lawman president Lee Anderson utilized an expletive to accidental that if they did not similar barges they should spell backmost to France, the Daily Express reported.

Asked astir the language, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Lee has expressed himself successful his ain mode but the cardinal constituent he's making is not unreasonable."