Businesses hiring illegal immigrants will not only face hefty new fines but be named and shamed on the UK Border Agency's public website, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced yesterday.

Businesses hiring illegal immigrants will not only face hefty new fines but be named and shamed on the UK Border Agency's public website, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced yesterday.

The move was introduced as part a major re-focus of the work of the UK Border Agency, with new Local Immigration Teams being introduced across the UK, alongside Local Crime Partnerships with police.

Around 7500 UKBA officers and staff across the UK will be reorganised into 70-80 Local Immigration Teams and given a clear mission to focus on local immigration crime.

The government's plans, set out in a document Enforcing the Deal, sets a strategy to make the most harmful people first priority for removal from the UK.

This will be achieved through a raft of measures including automatic deportation for serious offenders, more than 1000 extra immigration staff focused on enforcement duties, action against employers who break the law, and new partnerships with local authorities and enforcement agencies to ban those breaking the rules.

Although the report refers to the "introduction" of automatic deportation for those sentenced to a year or more in prison, the Home Office admitted this was existing policy.

It also remains open to appeal, so the situation that led to campaigns on behalf of Sakchai Makao, 25, a Thai who has lived in Shetland since the age of 10, and Ernesto Leal, 43, a Chilean refugee's son who was raised in Scotland, remains unchanged.

Well-wishers from their local populations - who thought their crimes were out of character - pressed for them to be allowed to stay after they had served their sentences.

However, deportation will be imposed for those who use guns or sell drugs regardless of their sentence.

Launching the new strategy Ms Smith said the "deal" was that when newcomers came here they entered into a deal with the UK - to work hard, play by the rules and earn their right to stay.

"To ensure that deal is delivered we have already increased resources by putting 1000 additional immigration staff on enforcement duties and are on-track to double our enforcement resources by 2009-10, and deliver Immigration Crime Partnerships in every part of the UK," she said.