UK’s Byron restaurant under fire for immigration raid
British burger chain Byron has been targeted by protesters over its alleged involvement in an immigration sting that saw some of its migrant staff deported.
A sizable crowd of demonstrators gathered outside a Byron restaurant in central London on Monday night, accusing it of collaborating with the UK Home Office to entrap some 35 staff members for deportation.
The Home Office announced last week that it had taken into custody 35 migrants from Albania, Brazil, Nepal and Egypt with Byron’s “full cooperation.” So far 25 of the detainees have been removed from the UK.
The ministry made it clear that Byron will not face any legal action since it correctly checked the staff’s “right to work” but was shown false or counterfeit documentation.
Byron issued a statement after Monday's protests, insisting that it was “unaware” of the counterfeit documents before the Home Office brought the issue to its attention.
The protesters, however, were not convinced by that explanation and blasted the chain for its role in the deportation.
“The law doesn’t tell Byron to entrap workers, to lure them into a trap, to trick them into coming into work when actually they are being raided and they are going to be deported,” said protest coordinator Ewa Jasiewicz.
“It’s completely unacceptable. How they behaved might have been legal but it’s not ethical ... They need to clean up their act,” she added.
British companies that fail to properly validate an immigrant’s right to work could face fines of up to £20,000. For Byron, the figure could go as high as £700,000.
The protest forced Byron officials to close the branch earlier than usual. The Holborn branch was also closed after the protesters unleashed swarms of live insects in them.
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