LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it

made 63% more arrests for illegal working this year than last,

driven by targeted operations in the food delivery, beauty

salons and car washes industries aimed at deterring illegal

migration.

Britain's Labour government has seen its popularity slide

since it came into office last year - partly due to public

concerns over immigration - and, under pressure from the

populist Reform UK party, has pledged to reduce the number of

migrants who arrive illegally.

"Illegal working creates an incentive for people attempting

to arrive in this country illegally," interior minister Shabana

Mahmood said in a statement. "No more."

Immigration Enforcement arrested more than 8,000 illegal

migrants in the 12 months to September 2025, a statement from

Mahmood's interior ministry said, up 63% on the previous 12

months.

Of those arrested, over 1,050 foreign nationals have been

removed from the country.

Polling shows immigration is one of British voters' main

concerns after the cost of living, and the government's repeated

crackdowns on illegal working form part of its broader strategy

to curb illegal migration.

In September, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced another

part of the plan, saying that in future workers would be

required to hold a compulsory digital identity card.

Some rights advocates have voiced concerns over the

government's tougher stance on immigration, warning that it was

fuelling hostility toward migrants and British people from

ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Food delivery firms including Deliveroo ( DROOF ), Just Eat

and Uber's ( UBER ) delivery app Uber Eats, have

agreed since 2023 to implement stricter controls to end the

practice of unchecked account sharing by their drivers and

riders over worries about illegal and underage workers.

The government struck a new deal in July with the three

companies, in which they have also agreed to share data to help

identify asylum seekers working illegally.