"Children who arrive in the UK on small boats could be searched to check if they are concealing phone sim cards in their mouths under new Home Office rules. New measures will allow immigration enforcement officials to seize phones at the border if it is believed they contain useful intelligence about people-smugglers. Officers will have the power to make new arrivals remove an outer coat, jacket or gloves at UK ports to search for devices."
"I never heard of any asylum seeker hiding a sim card in their mouth. When we crossed the Channel the smugglers told us to delete everything from our phones. People with cheap phones just threw them in the sea while people who had decent phones left them with friends in northern France and asked them to mail them via DHL if they reached the UK safely. I think this is a show by Shabana [Mahmood]."
New Home Office rules would allow immigration enforcement to seize phones at the border if believed to contain intelligence on people-smugglers and to search new arrivals for concealed devices. Officers could require removal of outer coats, jackets or gloves and could conduct searches inside mouths for hidden SIM cards or small electronic devices. Home Office sources said children could be subjected to such searches if clearly necessary and proportionate. Charities and refugees raised concerns about invasiveness, trauma and privacy violations and said phones are often deleted, discarded or left with contacts to avoid detection. Officials argue searches will aid intelligence gathering and arrests.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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