‘For the birds!’ Martin Daubney mocks Labour's latest migration crackdown: ‘As useful as a chocolate teapot!’

The legislation gives border officials extra powers to question arrivals, gather intelligence from electronic devices, and even act pre-arrest in certain cases.

Speaking about the measures on The People's Channel today, Martin said: "Ready yourself for this story, because migrants can now have their phones and their electronic devices seized at Dover under a huge new clampdown on illegal immigration.

"Well, that'll scare them. That'll really make them quake in their sandals.

"Now, surely this won't stop the people smuggling gangs. More to the point, why on earth wasn't this happening all along?

"You can sense my cynicism on this. I cannot believe these people just walked into Britain with a phone and have no checks about their person even happening.

"I put it to you this is another chocolate teapot of an idea."

Tony Smith, former director-general of the UK Border Force, said: "I gave evidence to the committee last year on this.

"It took a year to pass and is part of the Government’s agenda to tackle smuggling gangs.

"With regard to migrants arriving on small boats with phones, most of them throw their phones away.

"If they do have phones, we could still access these devices under previous legislation when they were under arrest.

“What this Act enables us to do is check phones for specific intelligence, for example, to see if someone is linked to a smuggling gang.

“The powers can also be used pre-arrest. So if someone is already in the UK and may not be an illegal immigrant, but has a phone on them, these powers allow officers to act."

The Home Office has confirmed that device seizures will start on Monday at the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent, where technology is in place to extract intelligence from phones and other electronic devices.

Officers will have the power to ask migrants to remove coats and even check their mouths for hidden SIM cards.

The National Crime Agency said the information gathered could help accelerate investigations into people-smuggling networks.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced plans for “significant changes” to the UK’s asylum system, aimed at deterring people from attempting to enter the country and making deportations easier.

Last year, a total of 41,472 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats almost five thousand more than in 2024.

The new powers are hoped to speed up investigations and come after the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act became law in December.

The Government's new law also introduces criminal offences, with anyone found guilty of storing or supplying boat engines to bring migrants to the UK via the English Channel smuggling route facing up to 14 years in prison.