In the wake of the cockle pickers scandal: connections to immigration policy in UK

I've been following the UK press reports of the Morecambe Bay cockle pickers tragedy because of its relationship to questions of migration and migrants.

Pretty much every day I check the Steve Bell cartoon from The Guardian, and most days it's deliciously vicious, in ways that few American political cartoonists seem to dare. Today's is linked to a story on the

Muddle over bill to crack down on gangmasters
Sarah Hall and David Ward
Tuesday February 10, 2004 The Guardian

...but it's also closely related to the current contretemps about the ravening hordes who seem to want to come to Britain ("benefit tourists" is the pejorative label). Here are a few of the recent stories on the issue:

Is this the Daily Mail effect? Why Blair will look again at the 'risk' of influx from Europe
Owen Bowcott
Thursday February 5, 2004 The Guardian

UK opens door to migrants
Alan Travis, The Guardian, 09 Feb 2004

Asylum policies 'make 10,000 people destitute a year'
Matthew Taylor, The Guardian, 09 Feb 2004

UK may tighten benefit controls to deter new EU immigrants Patrick Wintour, et al, The Guardian, 05 Feb 2004