Southport MP Patrick Hurley MP has called for a tougher national crackdown on organised criminal gangs exploiting Britain’s high streets, warning that simply closing down rogue businesses is not enough if criminals can reopen elsewhere under a different name.
The Southport MP has submitted five parliamentary questions to Government ministers following the first meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Town Centres under his chairmanship.
The cross-party meeting brought together parliamentarians and policy experts to examine the growing problem of organised crime operating through apparently legitimate high street businesses, including illicit tobacco and vape shops, counterfeit goods outlets and other premises linked to criminal activity.
Discussions highlighted how criminal enterprises can undermine legitimate businesses, distort commercial property markets and damage public confidence in town centres. The group examined successful enforcement initiatives, including Operation Tetbury in Rochdale, which combined targeted action against offenders with intelligence gathering and support for local businesses.
But Hurley warned that enforcement alone risks becoming a game of “criminal whack-a-mole”, with businesses shut down in one location only for the same individuals to establish new operations elsewhere. Following the meeting, Hurley has demanded answers from the Home Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The questions challenge ministers on:
- Criminals reopening elsewhere: Whether organised criminal groups simply relocate to alternative premises after closure orders are enforced.
- Repeat offenders: Whether existing enforcement powers are strong enough to tackle individuals who repeatedly establish businesses involved in illicit trading under different company identities.
- Bringing premises back into use: How police and enforcement agencies can work with local authority regeneration programmes to ensure properties previously used for criminal activity return to legitimate commercial use.
- Driving out legitimate traders: Whether money laundering and illicit trading are distorting commercial rents and making it harder for honest businesses to secure high street premises.
- Landlord and tenant transparency: Whether reforms to commercial tenancy registration and landlord transparency could help prevent organised criminals exploiting high street properties.
Patrick Hurley, MP for Southport and the Northern Parishes, said:
“I was really encouraged by the range of ideas and practical suggestions brought forward at the first session of the Town Centres APPG under my chairmanship.
“Crime and anti-social behaviour can have a serious impact on town centres across the country. In Southport, I know first-hand the concerns residents and businesses have raised about anti-social behaviour and the effect it can have on the town centre.
“We have seen measures such as Public Space Protection Orders introduced locally, but I wanted this first meeting to look at what more can be done nationally — particularly through legislative and preventative measures that can help tackle these problems over the long term.
“Organised criminals should not be allowed to turn our high streets into a front for illegal activity, and honest businesses should not have to compete with people who are breaking the law.
“We need to get much smarter about how we tackle this. There’s little point shutting down a criminal operation on one street if the same people can simply open up somewhere else a few weeks later under a different company name. That’s criminal whack-a-mole, not a serious long-term solution.
“And there’s a wider problem here. Criminal money is being used to pay inflated rents and legitimate businesses can find themselves priced out of their own town centres. That’s bad for traders, bad for shoppers and bad for the future of our high streets.
“In Southport, I know how much people care about the future of our town centre. Residents want streets that feel safe, businesses that can thrive and empty properties brought back into productive use.
“We need to follow the money, identify the people behind these operations and make sure that when criminal businesses are closed, the premises can be returned to honest commercial use.
“That’s why I’ve put these questions directly to ministers. I want to know whether the law is strong enough, whether enforcement agencies have the right tools and whether we’re doing enough to stop criminals simply moving from one premises to another.
“Our high streets should belong to the communities they serve, not the criminal gangs who exploit them.”
The meeting was the first in a programme of parliamentary sessions organised under Hurley’s chairmanship of the APPG for Town Centres.
Future sessions will examine the impact of business rates, fragmented commercial property ownership and absentee landlords, as the group develops practical proposals to support the regeneration of town centres across the country.
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