Its mission was to “smash the criminal smuggling gangs making millions out of small boat crossings”. It was launched last July, but there is little evidence to suggest the tide is turning.

Those in charge of Britain’s 5.5m small and medium-sized businesses – companies that have less than 250 staff – are particularly worried. Despite accounting for 60pc of all UK employment and ...

An icon of the an X shape. An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component An icon of a speech bubble. An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments.

An icon of the an X shape. An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component An icon of a speech bubble. An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments.