UK to work with allies and social media to tackle people smuggling adverts

The UK has pledged further action with allies and social media platforms to tackle people smuggling adverts online as part of efforts to cut small boat crossings and other illegal migration services.
A new agreement made at the UK's Organised Immigration Crime Summit on Tuesday will see the UK, US, Albania, Sweden, Tunisia and Vietnam take more collective action to target criminal gangs advertising illegal migration online, and share more data on the issue.
The agreement will also see governments work with social media companies – including Meta, TikTok and X, who were present at the summit – to design out methods being used by criminal gangs to advertise and glorify their people smuggling activities online.
The Home Office said 18,000 social media accounts used to sell spaces on small boats have been taken down by the National Crime Agency (NCA) since last July – 10,000 more than the previous year – but that further action is still needed.
As part of the new collective action agreement, governments will work with online platforms to help improve detection and moderation tools for identifying content linked to people smuggling.
Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt said: 'Criminal gangs are exploiting online platforms to prey on vulnerable people, luring them into dangerous and illegal journeys that undermine our border security.
'This international agreement is a vital step in shutting down their online operations and dismantling their networks across the world.
'These organised crime groups operate across borders, which is why the UK has united with five nations to take decisive action – strengthening intelligence-sharing and taking away platforms that these criminals depend on for their business.
'Under the Government's Plan for Change, we will continue working with global partners to dismantle smuggling networks, bring perpetrators to justice, and protect vulnerable people from falling into their hands.'
The summit has also seen nations agree to increased intelligence-sharing, including between law enforcement agencies, while the UK is to lead work on investigating how criminal gangs are using online spaces.
Graeme Biggar, director-general of the NCA, said: 'Yesterday we saw law enforcement from over 40 nations come together in a shared endeavour to stop these criminal gangs.
'We have explored challenges, sought solutions, and reinforced our shared commitment to tackling the threat and harm caused by people smuggling.
'International intelligence-sharing and co-operation is absolutely crucial to track criminal activity across borders, allowing us to put a stop to these dangerous criminals, and this summit has ensured that we can build on our work to put a stop to these gangs, protect our borders and save lives.'

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Daily Record

5 hours ago

• Daily Record

Pervert teaching assistant cries 'no' as he's arrested over sick videos of schoolgirls

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As reported by the Echo, Pickett, of Withington Road in Speke, Liverpool, had been linked to the account through his email address. ‌ On Friday, Prosecutor Cheryl Mottram told the city's Crown Court that his behaviour quickly "became more erratic," and he had to be handcuffed after making threats to kill himself. He did, however, hand over the password to his iPhone. Inside the device, officers uncovered 62 indecent images and one video in category A - the most extreme classification of abuse - along with 28 images and one video in category B, and 192 category C images. In addition to the six upskirting clips, Pickett had also saved a number of handwritten notes on the phone, which his own legal team described as 'fantasy letters' about his young pupils. He had also carried out several disturbing searches on TikTok related to children. The teaching assistant broke down in tears as he was locked up yesterday. Pickett, who has no previous convictions, was employed at the school in question via an agency between September 2023 and January 2024. Charles Lander, defending, told the court that his client had since completed a series of courses aimed at rehabilitating sex offenders, adding: "It is clear that he will find benefit in this. "He makes candid admissions. The realisation of what has happened to him would be difficult for anyone facing their first custodial sentence, but it is often more difficult for individuals with this kind of offending. He has got his head down. Your honour will have read about the death of his father and issues in his background during his childhood. But, ultimately, he engaged in the behaviour he did." ‌ Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Pickett admitted operating equipment under clothing without consent, taking indecent images of children, five counts of making indecent images and possession of cannabis. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a grey Under Armour t-shirt, he was seen wiping tears away before nodding as he was jailed for 20 months. Sentencing, Recorder Mark Ainsworth said: "You were employed as a teaching assistant. Plainly, that is a position of trust for two reasons. The students you were teaching were children, and, also, they had complex learning needs. In both ways, they could be regarded as vulnerable. ‌ "You were arrested. Your initial response was to panic. You were visibly distressed, and well you might have been, given that you knew what the police were about to discover. "Needless to say, behind each and every image was a child being sexually abused, some of those images showing the most serious forms of sexual abuse. These images do not show a victimless crime, far from it. The assumption has to be made that, if it was not for people like yourself providing a marketplace for such images, that abuse would not take place. "They were but part of what was discovered by the police. 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Daily Mail​

7 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

Inside the life of the TikTok addict mum who stole half a million: How mum splashed cash on cosmetic surgery and £300k gifts to her favourite influencers

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While some could show a modicum of sympathy for a mother who, in a moment of madness, turned to petty crime in an effort trying to make ends meet - this was certainly not the case with Greenall. Her ill-gotten gains were not spent on groceries, school uniforms or new shoes, but TikTok. Bizarrely the mother-of-two splashed £300k on 'TikTok coins' and gifted them to her favourite influencers. The remaining £140k was splurged on the likes of holidays, hotel stays, Amazon purchases and cosmetic treatments. TikTok coins are a virtual currency that can be purchased online and 'gifted' to content creators during 'live' sessions, with the influencers usually giving a 'shout out' to gifters. The mother, described as a 'TikTok addict' at trial, is said to have found 'amusement and entertainment' in gifting her favourite content creators. 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Her spending spree almost pushed New Reg Ltd, which had been operating since 1995, to financial ruin and put 30 of her colleagues at risk of redundancy. However, the job security of her work friends' was far from the mind of Greenall as she returned to her desk. Instead she made a final deposit of £20k to her own account and fled the office. In a final act of betrayal, she had callously told bosses she had a family emergency and would not be back. A week later, Greenall rang her office and admitted to the fraud. Over the course of 121 payments, she siphoned off £443,523.26 from the company, the Liverpool Echo reported. But despite the large sum, her fraud began on a small scale. She started by making deposits of around £200 at a time in 2023, and by the end of the year had made 53 unauthorised deposits totalling £57,036. She spent the small fortune on supermarket shops, restaurants and cafes, Amazon Prime and sports shops. She also splashed out on family holidays, hotel bookings and even hired a family lawyer. The mother-of-two then ramped up her spending the following year, making another four deposits to her account totalling £8,917 in January alone. In February she siphoned off a further ten payments amounting to £14,916. And the following month her illegal bank transfers had exploded and she took home a shocking £146,288 over the course of 20 payments. By April, Greenall's spending was completely out of control and in the course of just four weeks, transferred herself £196,364.26. And in a final payment on May 1, she deposited herself £20,000 in a single transaction before walking out. When interviewed by police, the young mother claimed she had 'not been living a lavish lifestyle' and had only £700 in her bank account. She explained how the deposits had started off as small and were only used to fund household purchases but quickly ballooned as she spent the cash on TikTok tokens. She confessed to becoming 'addicted' to the social media app and revealed sending the tokens made her feel better during a period where she felt very low. But to bosses at they reject this notion. They said a 'sympathetic portrait' of Katherine has been painted as a 'mum in tears' who had 'simply lost control', but that they hold a 'different account'. 'This wasn't impulsive. It was organised, sustained, and deeply manipulative,' says founder Steven Terence Jackson. 'This wasn't someone overwhelmed by technology. This was someone exploiting trust and abusing freedom, while looking her colleagues in the eye.' The firm said it was 'a deliberate and sustained deception' that unfolded over a long period of time, with more than £100,000 of the ill-gotten gains spent on luxury living 'well before any social media-linked spending emerged'. 'These actions didn't just harm our business; they impacted her family, betrayed her colleagues' trust, and disrespected a team that had supported her throughout.' Out of the enormous £443,523.26 of swindled funds, Greenhall spent £301,162.55 on TikTok tokens in the 21-month period. Chief executive William Fletcher MBE and chief operating officer Anthony Sharkey told of how the fraud had begun as low level transfers. They said: 'In 2023, it was very low level fraud. The way she hid it was to use genuine people and client names but then put in her personal bank details. 'It started with around £200 deposits at a time, which as you can imagine as a company turning over around half a million pounds a week, was hard to notice. 'And then it was in about March 2024 when it went ballistic. That's when she went crazy with it. 'It was unbelievable, that somebody who was in the inner circle, had helped build up the brand, could do this. And she was very well rewarded as well, she went from joining at minimum wage to having a pay package of more than £50k. 'If it hadn't been stopped and continued at the rate that the theft escalated in the final weeks, we would not have been able to continue trading. 'It was an incredible hit. We had to shift focus to protecting the jobs and livelihoods of staff here and I'm glad we were able to. 'We are devastated for her kids. For what purpose she did this we do not understand.' The pair also feel Barclays, who the company account and Greenall's personal account was registered with, had a lot to answer for. They said: 'We feel Barclays is liable for not checking these payments. They should have spotted it. 'They should have the most simple rule they put in place where if the payment name varies on so many instances, you investigate it. 'There's no way this would have happened 100 years ago. 'If we'd gone to the bank with a cheque with details that don't match up to deposit money, then went again the next day, and the next day, more than a hundred times, it wouldn't have happened. 'So why have we gone backwards? I don't understand why we're expected to accept this. 'We feel that if this was a big corporation or a personal account, there would have been more done. 'And why was it not flagged when such a lump sum went into her account?' The pair said they have only been able to retrieve around £2000 from the £440,000 stolen from them. They are hoping the case will alert other small business owner that similar could be happening to them, and have put up a page on their site to unite against the scams. Paul Becker, defending, told the court that Greenall, who had no previous convictions, 'may have been suffering from a form of addiction to TikTok', but stated that she had 'no formal diagnosis to such an addiction'. Mr Fletcher and Mr Sharkey also believe TikTok should have regulated the use of TikTok coins. They said: 'Katie claimed it was an addiction, in which case why is there no regulation over the amount spent on TikTok coins? 'If this was a gambling platform, there would be regulation over it and it wouldn't have gone on for this long. 'The platform also takes a significant commission for all gifts to content creators and we feel there has been a lack of accountability in returning this money.' Greenall admitted one count of fraud by abuse of position. Her two children, a six-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy with severe ADHD, will be cared for by her sister, a nursery care worker while she is in prison. Sentencing, Judge Neil Flewitt KC said: 'You are 29 years of age and of previous good character. You are a good mum to two young children, one of whom has particular challenges. You were trusted and respected. 'Your employers were aware of the challenges that you faced at home and made allowed allowances. 'You repaid their trust in you by stealing from them on a massive scale. Over a period from January 2023 to the beginning of May 2024, you stole almost £450,000. 'You covered you what you were doing by manipulating documents that were used for accounting purposes by the company, and you put that money into your own bank account. He concluded by saying: 'It is a matter of regret that I have a public duty which I have to fulfil. It is a tragedy that those children are going to suffer as a result of your dishonesty. 'I have taken the view that there is simply no way to avoid what I am sure you have been advised is the inevitable sentence of imprisonment. This is simply too much money and too much damage caused here.' A Barclays spokesperson said: 'The protection of our customers' funds and data is our highest priority, and we take every precaution to ensure these are secure. We are sorry to hear about the fraud perpetrated and its impact on our customer. 'We have investigated this case thoroughly, finding no fault from the bank and as soon as we were alerted to this issue, we took every step to recover any remaining funds. 'New Reg Ltd. used a specialist business platform to handle payments, for which some of its employees were authorised users. We provided extensive guidance and tools to the business for this platform to prevent such fraud taking place, including various warnings and a recommendation to implement dual-authorisation, which requires two people to authorise every payment. We encourage them to continue pursuing this matter as a civil dispute.'

Daily Mirror

7 hours ago

• Daily Mirror

'Humphrey' and 'uwotm8': How Whitehall's AI assistant was given English lessons

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