Businesses that employ illegal immigrants are to be publicly "named and shamed" in an attempt to curb people smuggling, the British government said today.
Home secretary Jacqui Smith said companies that break the rules will be exposed on the UK Border Agency's website.
"We will publicly take action against more organised criminals, facilitators and employers who break the law," Ms Smith said in a statement to parliament.
"When newcomers come here they enter into a deal with the UK - to work hard, play by the rules and earn their right to stay."
Critics said the policy could create a larger underground workforce of illegal immigrants and penalise poorly-paid workers.
More than 200 companies have already been fined for hiring illegal labour, the government said. About 7,500 staff will work in localised "immigration teams" across Britain to tackle the problem, Smith added.
The Conservative Party was scathing about the policy.
"Putting names on a website is no substitute for real action," shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said. "Naming and shaming is no substitute for catching and convicting."
The announcement came on the day seven illegal immigrants escaped from a detention centre in Oxfordshire. Three of the detainees from the Campsfield Immigration Detention Centre were recaptured and four were still missing.
Reuters