The government’s crackdown on gangmasters employing illegal workers is continuing after police raided four houses in Merseyside, Manchester and Lancashire.

Gangmasters have been linked with employing illegal foreign workers in appalling conditions.

Police questioned 23 suspected illegal immigrants from eastern Europe following the raids.

The 19 men and four women arrested were all in their early 20s and were rumoured to be working in seasonal agricultural jobs.

A parliamentary bill that would require gangmasters to be licensed has gained support from the government, according to Jim Sheridan, the MP who proposed it.

“We have got the broad support of the government,” he said. “This means the government should give us a fair wind through the legislative process and indicates that it could become an effective piece of legislation.”