Yvette Cooper has been accused of being "shamed" into action as the Home Office has announced a "nationwide blitz" on asylum seekers working illegally in the UK.
The crackdown comes amid an increase in the number of people in asylum hotels working as food takeaway delivery riders for companies such as Uber Eats, Just Eat and Deliveroo.
The Home Office pledged to begin "a major operation to disrupt this type of criminality".
The statement read: "Strategic, intel-driven activity will bring together officers across the UK and place an increased focus on migrants suspected of working illegally whilst in taxpayer-funded accommodation or receiving financial support."
GETTY
|Yvette Cooper has announced a 'nationwide blitz' on asylum seekers working illegally in the UK
Several media investigations have revealed evidence that individuals are suspected of earning money through food delivery services while residing in taxpayer-funded accommodation.
While waiting for an asylum claim to be processed, it is illegal to work in Britain.
In a circulated social media video, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp visited an asylum hotel in London, where he found bikes with bags from various food delivery companies packed together in an outside courtyard.
The Home Office statement threatened that anyone caught working could lose their accommodation or support payments.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
GETTY | Illegal migrants have been working as delivery drivers for Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber EatsThey also said that businesses found to be employing someone not entitled to work could face fines of up to £60,000 per worker, as well as director disqualifications or prison terms.
Labour has also claimed that there has been an increase in enforcement and arrests related to illegal working since it came to power.
Police raids on an asylum hotel saw multiple arrests, with mobile phones and bicycles being seized during the enforcement action in London.
A second operation resulted in one cyclist being placed in an unmarked custody van.
Philp said: “It shouldn’t take a visit to an asylum hotel by me as Shadow Home Secretary to shame the Government into action.
"Illegal working by asylum seekers – most of whom also entered the country illegally – is happening from the very hotels Yvette Cooper is using our money to run.
"The Government could easily stop it. I saw Deliveroo and other bikes parked in the hotel’s own compound - yet all the security guard cared about was me filming."
Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats have committed to implementing enhanced facial verification checks within 90 days to identify unauthorised workers.
Just Eat announced it would increase checks from monthly to daily frequency and stated it "fully supports" Government efforts to combat illegal working.
Deliveroo confirmed it maintains a "zero tolerance approach to anyone abusing our platform".
Uber Eats said it is "committed to tackling illegal working and welcomes continued collaboration with industry and the Home Office".
GETTY | More than 20,000 small boat migrants have now crossed the English Channel so far this yearReform UK and the Conservatives have increased pressure on Labour, vowing they would reduce the backlog of unprocessed asylum claims.
In addition, Labour has received criticism over the number of asylum seekers arriving on small boats across the Channel, which now stands at over 20,000 since the start of the year.
Cooper said: "There is no single solution to the problem of illegal migration. That’s why we’ve signed landmark agreements with international partners to dismantle gangs and made significant arrests of notorious people smugglers."
The Prime Minister will meet with the French President Emmanuel Macron next week to discuss a possible "one in, one out" deal in which the UK could return those on small boats to France in exchange for accepting asylum seekers with links to Britain.