Reform UK proposes law to jail bosses for employing illegal migrants
Party pledges fines of up to 10% of global revenue and criminal liability for company directors
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Reform has attempted to make Deliveroo the face of illegal working with the name of its proposed law, but the company has hit back (Picture: Reuters)
Photograph: Metro News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Reform UK proposes criminal liability for CEOs and directors of companies employing illegal migrants, with fines of up to 10% of global revenue.
- The plan, called the 'Deliveroo Law', targets firms regardless of whether bosses knew of workers’ immigration status.
- Current UK law fines businesses up to £60,000 per illegal worker, with no criminal liability for directors.
- Deliveroo criticised the proposal, stating it had already taken steps to prevent illegal working and that Reform’s data was outdated.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 7 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 9 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
72/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
28/100
9 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 1 of the 7 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Reform UK has proposed a law that would make company directors and CEOs personally criminally liable for employing illegal migrants. The party, led by Nigel Farage, said the legislation would impose the "harshest penalties in the world" for businesses found to be employing workers without the right to work in the UK. Under the plan, companies could be fined up to 10% of their global revenues, and directors could face prison sentences.
The proposal, dubbed the "Deliveroo Law" by Reform, would apply even if employers were unaware of a worker’s immigration status. Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesman, said the current system allowed companies to profit from illegal working while British workers lost out. He described the UK as the "softest-touch country in the world for illegal migrants" under the existing laws.
Current UK law allows fines of up to £60,000 per illegal worker, but does not hold company directors criminally liable. LBC reported that visits and arrests linked to illegal working rose to 12,791 in 2025, a 57% increase from 2019. The Home Office said illegal working undermined honest businesses and exploited vulnerable individuals, but did not comment on Reform’s proposal.
Deliveroo responded to the proposal by stating it had "led the industry" in tackling illegal working. A spokesperson said the company conducted right-to-work checks, daily identity verifications, and used fraud-detection technology. Deliveroo also said the data Reform cited in its announcement was from 2023 and did not reflect the current situation.
What the reports agree on
All eight reports confirm that Reform UK proposes criminal liability for company directors and CEOs who employ illegal migrants. They agree the plan includes fines of up to 10% of global revenue and that the proposal applies regardless of whether employers knew of workers’ immigration status. The reports also note that current UK law fines businesses up to £60,000 per illegal worker, with no criminal liability for directors.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated digests or reports mentioned Deliveroo’s response to the proposal, including its claim that Reform’s data was outdated. The centre-rated BBC digest also omitted Deliveroo’s criticism. The left-rated Metro News was the only outlet to include the proposed "Turkish Barbers tip line", which would allow the public to report businesses suspected of employing illegal workers.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 6 Aug 2026, 11:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
1 rated outlet
- Metro News led on the proposal’s potential impact on company directors, quoting Reform’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf describing the UK as the "softest-touch country in the world for illegal migrants". The report included Deliveroo’s criticism of the plan, with the company calling Reform’s data outdated and stating it had already taken steps to prevent illegal working. Metro also noted the proposed "Turkish Barbers tip line", which would allow the public to report businesses suspected of employing illegal workers.
- The report quoted Deliveroo’s spokesperson: "Illegal working should absolutely be addressed, and that’s why we’ve led the industry in cracking down on the sophisticated, organised criminals who attempt to abuse our platform." Metro was the only outlet to include this direct rebuttal from the company.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The BBC’s digest stated that Reform’s aim was to stop companies "profiting from illegal workers 'without consequences'". The report did not include Deliveroo’s response or the proposed tip line. It focused on the party’s broader goal of deterring illegal working rather than the specifics of the penalties or the criticism from businesses.
Right
5 rated outlets
- All four right-rated digests and reports led on the severity of the proposed penalties, with LBC describing them as the "harshest in the world". LBC’s full report included the detail that employers would be held responsible even if they were unaware of a worker’s immigration status. It also noted the 57% increase in visits and arrests linked to illegal working in 2025, citing Home Office figures.
- The Daily Express’s digest described the plan as targeting "Channel migrants working in Britain’s booming black economy". GB News’s digest repeated the phrase "jail bosses who employ illegal migrants" in its headline and opening line. Guido Fawkes’s digest quoted Reform’s description of the plan as a way to "end illegal working in Britain" and emphasised the 10% global revenue fine.
- LBC’s report included a statement from a Home Office spokesperson, who said illegal working "undermines honest business, exploits vulnerable individuals and fuels organised immigration crime". None of the right-rated digests or reports mentioned Deliveroo’s criticism of the proposal or the company’s claim that Reform’s data was outdated.
Read it at the source
9 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
1Right
5- Zia Yusuf Hosts Press Conference on Illegal Immigration (opens Guido Fawkes in a new tab)
Guido Fawkes — is Guido Fawkes biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Reform pledges 'harshest penalties in the world' for businesses employing illegal workers including jailing bosses (opens LBC in a new tab)
LBC
- Firms face huge fines and bosses could be thrown in jail in new Reform plan (opens Daily Express in a new tab)
Daily Express — is Daily Express biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Reform UK will jail bosses who employ illegal migrants under radical 'Deliveroo Law' (opens GB News in a new tab)
- Reform promises ‘Turkish barber tip line’ to report illegal workers (opens The Telegraph in a new tab)
The Telegraph — is The Telegraph biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
2- Reform to unveil controversial plan to fine firms and jail bosses who employ illegal workers – UK politics live (opens online-listing.com in a new tab)
online-listing.com — is online-listing.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- UK Illegal Hiring Crackdown: Bosses Jai (opens The Workers Rights in a new tab)
The Workers Rights
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
