The Foreign Office has spent £3.75 million of taxpayer money on a controversial campaign in Albania, portraying Britain as a 'bigoted' and 'run-down' country in an attempt to deter illegal
migration, it has emerged.
The campaign, which ran on social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, featured videos of Albanian migrants in the UK highlighting the high cost of living and alleged discrimination. The footage also included images of derelict buildings, shuttered shops covered in graffiti, and discarded furniture outside housing estates.
Launched under the previous Conservative government and continued by Labour, the campaign was introduced in response to a surge in Albanian migrants crossing the English Channel in 2022. That year, Home Office data recorded 12,000 Albanians arriving in the UK via small boats, despite Albania not being in a state of war or experiencing the same levels of poverty as conflict-stricken nations like Sudan or Syria.
An internal Foreign Office report, cited by the i Paper, has since revealed that the campaign was ineffective, failing to curb illegal migration from Albania. The document stated: "There is limited evidence of the effectiveness of a dissuasive communications approach."
Political and public backlash
The initiative has drawn sharp criticism from politicians and commentators. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage condemned the campaign as "an absolute farce," despite supporting government efforts to deter illegal migration. He argued that the campaign aligned with what he described as Labour’s negative portrayal of the UK.
One of the campaign’s videos featured an Albanian graduate named Vera, who now works in the hospitality industry in the UK. She described the difficulties of adapting to life in Britain, stating: "The mindset that people have about Albanians... is not a very positive mindset. To live in England is very difficult."
As scrutiny mounts over the campaign’s cost and effectiveness, questions remain over the Foreign Office’s strategy in tackling illegal migration and the portrayal of the UK in overseas media efforts. Photo by Adrian Pingstone, Wikimedia commons.