Vodafone defends migrant SIM card programme amid Reform UK criticism

Vodafone is facing criticism from Reform UK following reports that the telecommunications company provided approximately 2,221 free SIM cards to the refugee charity Care4Calais. According to Care4Calais’s annual report, these cards, which include six months of data, were distributed to asylum seekers and migrants at various UK locations, including the Wethersfield migrant camp in Essex.

Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesman, has written to Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle demanding the company terminate its relationship with Care4Calais and cancel the cards. Yusuf accused the company of facilitating illegal Channel crossings and suggested that Vodafone should provide tracking data to British and French authorities. He also threatened the company with government contract bans.

Vodafone defended the initiative, stating that its programme provides SIM cards to registered UK charities for distribution to vulnerable people within the United Kingdom. A company spokesperson emphasized that all calls, texts, and data are restricted to UK use only, countering claims that the cards could be used to facilitate crossings from France.