Albanian migrants have taken to TikTok to boast about being put up in luxury taxpayer-funded hotels in posts sure to embarrass Keir Starmer and Labour.
One video posted on social media show men bragging about making it to the UK after paying £3,000 to cross the Channel.
The caption, in Albanian, advertises the route as ‘100 per cent guaranteed’ as the two gloat about their hotel room having a flat-screen TV.
One man is seen declaring: ‘Respects. They did bring us to London.’ In another clip, a caption claims: ‘Every day journey on small boats. Security 100 per cent.
‘Payment £3000, when you arrive in the UK. Brothers who wants to go get in touch and we sent you directly.’
It comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir admitted the UK was seen as a ‘soft touch’.
Last year Government spending surged by more than a third in a year to nearly £5.4billion on asylum seeker accommodation and support – hitting the highest figure since records began
The number of migrants living in hotels at the expense of taxpayers has also risen by 8,500 under Labour.
Videos posted on TikTok show men bragging about making it to the UK after paying £3,000 to cross the Channel
The caption, in Albanian, claims the route as 100 per cent guaranteed and in the video, one man said: ‘Respects. They did bring us to London’
It comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer admitted the UK was seen as a ‘soft touch’
The increase comes despite their election manifesto pledge to ‘end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds’.
Opening a two-day illegal migration conference in London yesterday, the Prime Minister said: ‘Illegal migration is a massive driver of global insecurity. It undermines our ability to control who comes here, and that makes people angry.
‘It makes me angry, frankly, because it’s unfair on ordinary working people who pay the price – from the cost of hotels, to our public services struggling under the strain.
‘And it’s unfair on the illegal migrants themselves, because these are vulnerable people being ruthlessly exploited by vile gangs.’
Some 6,642 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year in 119 boats, including more than 4,000 this month alone.
Countries including Albania, Vietnam and Iraq – from where migrants have travelled the UK – joined the talks, the first of their kind, alongside representatives from France, the US and China.
The PM called on the 40 countries that gathered in London yesterday and today to work together to stop people-smuggling gangs in the same way they would terrorists.
Writing in yesterday’s Mail, the Prime Minister insisted international co-operation was the ‘foundation’ of securing Britain’s borders. Some £30 million of funding was earmarked to tackle supply chains, illicit finances and trafficking routes across Europe, the Balkans, Asia and Africa.
The PM called on the 40 countries that gathered in London yesterday and today to work together to stop people-smuggling gangs in the same way they would terrorists
An extra £3 million will boost the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) capacity to prosecute smugglers and expand its international footprint.
Smuggling gangs have been known to use social media platforms to advertise Channel crossing packages and make contact with migrants before moving to encrypted messaging services.
Leaders from tech firms including Meta, X, and TikTok attended yesterday’s summit to discuss tackling online adverts.
During the summit, the Prime Minister said: ‘We’ve seized hundreds of boats and engines, driving up the costs of smugglers. We’ve taken out 18,000 social media accounts, 10,000 more than last year, disrupting the way smugglers promote their services.’
He added: ‘This Government is taking back control, doing the hard graft needed to deliver results, working with our international allies to smash these gangs and secure our borders.
‘For too long, the UK was a soft touch. That ends now. No more gimmicks, no empty promises, just serious action for British security.’
The PM also announced that the Home Office has returned more than 24,000 people with no right to be in the UK since Labour took power.
There were 24,103 returns between July 5 and March 22 – the highest number for eight years – including 3,594 foreign criminals.
Some 6,642 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year in 119 boats, including more than 4,000 this month alone
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However the number of people reaching the UK in dinghies across the Channel is also at record levels with close to 6,000 arriving so far this year.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp asked in the Commons: ‘Will the minister now accept the Government’s plan to ‘smash the gangs’ lies in tatters? Crossings are up by 31 per cent since the election, they’re about to break 30,000 and the first three months of this year have been the worst on record.
‘Does she now accept it was a catastrophic mistake to cancel the Rwanda deterrent before it even started?’
Immigration minister Dame Angela Eagle admitted on Times Radio: ‘Of course, we’re disappointed. Some of that is about having more people per boat, which is also more dangerous and more reckless.
‘But what we’ve got to do – we’ve been in government for eight months – these people smuggling gangs have been allowed to establish themselves across the Channel and be very sophisticated with their global networks for six years.’
