SMS alerts for foreigners in the UK

The Home Office has announced today that text messages will be sent to foreigners who might overstay their visas to remind them to leave Britain - this is another hyped sound-bite for politicians. How will they track the phone numbers of people who overstay their visa when they'll most likely get a cheap SIM replacement on the street? Hype, hype, and media soundbite:

A three-month pilot scheme is due to begin next month and is part of an attempt to get police, local authorities, health care trusts and government departments to co-operate with one another to deny people who overstay their visas access to work, benefits and services in the UK.

The home secretary, John Reid, defended the text messaging plans saying they were a "tiny" part of a new enforcement strategy designed to "block the benefits of Britain" to those who have overstayed their right to be in the country.

Read SMS alerts to remind foreigners to renew visas

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