Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of mobile telephones that have been confiscated from people arriving to the UK by boat since November 2020 have been returned to their owners.
85276: The statutory powers used to seize mobile phones are s. 19 of PACE as applied by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Application to immigration officers and designated customs officers in England and Wales) Order 2013 (the PACE Order) and s. 48 Immigration Act 2016.
85277: – Since November 2020, Immigration Enforcement have returned to the owners the majority of mobile telephone devices which have been seized by people arriving illegally via small boat to the UK.
85278: It is not our policy to take wedding rings from people. Personal items may be taken for safekeeping during the initial screening of migrants, but these are restored to the owner at the earliest opportunity. Items that may provide evidence of a criminal offence such as people smuggling may can be retained for a longer period if they form part of an active investigation.