"Morally reprehensible” social media giants were warned to remove adverts by people-smugglers peddling perilous, illegal journeys across the English Channel today.
Immigration Minister Chris Philp threatened to name and shame firms hosting adverts for dangerous voyages, accusing them of peddling traffickers' “marketing material”.
He told the Commons Home Affairs Committee: “Where law enforcement agencies like the NCA (National Crime Agency) point to material which is inciting illegal activity or is effectively acting as marketing material for ruthless people-smugglers, then social media companies are under a moral obligation to take that material down very quickly.
“If it turns out that the social media companies are continuing to behave in this way, it is something which I will be raising directly with them.”
He added: “I would certainly be prepared to name companies in future who are not acting in a proper manner.
“It is morally reprehensible for social media companies to leave this material online when it is acting as marketing collateral for criminals.
“They aren’t going far enough in my view, they sometimes hide behind procedure and policy where common sense would dictate they should take a different course of action.”
He accused those arranging dangerous cross-Channel voyages of “exploiting migrants for financial gain”.
He told MPs: “Very often they will tell migrants things which are not true about life in the UK, making out that it's totally different to France and Germany – which in practice, it isn't really – in order to persuade people to make these dangerous crossings, in order to relieve them of large amounts of money.”
Just 299 migrants came to the UK via small boats in 2018, rising to 1,844 last year, he told the committee.
In the first nine months of 2020, 6,901 people used such vessels to reach British shores – with an estimated 1,300 people arriving by the route in October and November.
However, Mr Philp claimed: “In the last two months, October to November, the numbers have reduced.”
He admitted that could be because of the deteriorating weather.
Mr Philp also revealed Britain has handed France £192million since September 2014 to stop illegal migrants trying to reach the UK.
Most of the cash went on measures to prevent bids to board lorries and Channel Tunnel trains, he said.
But the numbers of migrants attempting to get to Britain by small boats had rocketed “alarmingly”, the minister admitted.
He piled pressure on French authorities to stop boats mid-journey before they reach British waters.
He told MPs: “Turning people around at sea has a critical role to play.”
Mr Philp dismissed claims French officials were banned from taking action in the Channel, insisting it was “lawful to use enforced rescue methods where someone is in danger or distress”.
The minister clashed bitterly with committee chairwoman Yvette Cooper over claims the Home Office examined plans to house asylum seekers on disused offshore oil platforms, mothballed ferries and Ascension Island in the South Atlantic while claims were processed.
She also tackled him over suggestions British vessels could deploy “giant wave machines” at sea to repel migrants' inflatables.
The one-time Labour leadership hopeful told Mr Philp: “It would improve your credibility if you could just rule out some of the completely bonkers proposals."
He would only admit there were “currently no plans” to implement such ideas.