Tony Smith CBE

The Cypriot ringleader of a major drugs gang was granted the right to remain in Britain under the Windrush scheme despite having been jailed for a total of 49 years @ShabanaMahmood @MikeTappTweets @AlexJJNorris @FortinusGlobal @CPhilpOfficial @NJ_Timothy @migrationCtrl @MigObs @MigrationWatch @DannyShawNews @PoliceInspForum @ZiaYusufUK @NotThatBigIan @APPGMigration telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/1…

Failed asylum seekers and foreign criminals targeted in ECHR declaration #Echobox=1778780539" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…

@BBCBreaking Nice one @BBCBreaking well done.

BBC unmasks people smuggler whose network is believed to be behind most small boat crossings in recent years bbc.in/4eCex1V

Over two million doses of illegal medicines - worth an estimated £4.6m - were stopped at the UK border over 14 days in March. The Border Force and @MHRAgovuk operation formed part of the world’s largest coordinated initiative aimed at tackling the illegal medicines trade.

196 migrants in three boats were brought to Dover yesterday.

@BWoodzy99 @Sunpoches Is this allowed on a student visa @ukhomeoffice ?

This guy is here on a temporary three year student visa. He just won a 5 year term in the Scottish Parliament. He is currently crowdfunding for another temporary visa Mental. Absolutely mental

@Express_Knowles @MartinDaubney @Daily_Express Yep. As I said on @GBNEWS today this is the root of the problem. Had the Rwanda plan been implemented, some of these people would now be living there rather than here. Or stayed away….

A massive thank you to @MartinDaubney for having me on to discuss the @Daily_Express investigation into the staggeringly low number of Channel migrants being removed. Only 0.5% of arrivals from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Eritrea have been returned. Whatever your political views, that shows the asylum system isn't working as intended. Just 495 people from 96,002. New figures, obtained for the first time by the Daily Express, also reveal more small boat migrants have been returned to Ireland, 57, than Syria, 55 and Afghanistan, 16. And the same number have been sent back to Somalia and Tunisia as the United States of America – all 3. So much more to do on this. I've got multiple lines of enquiries from some of the data we've obtained.

My interview with @GBNews today. #smallboats #immigration #ukborder

Allahu Akbar, one and all. It’s been a big night for Green and independent candidates standing in the Gaza – sorry, British – local elections. While Reform has much to celebrate in gaining ground across the country, so too, it seems, do the people of Palestine, who now find themselves represented in town hall decision-making about bin collections and potholes nationwide. As if they hadn’t suffered enough, eh? Successful pro-Palestine candidates have wasted no time taking to social media to express their pride at winning swathes of British voters. ✍️ Steerpike Article | spectator.com/article/watch-…

Expect a Labour row over immigration in the wake of these locals. Lots in PLP pushing for a watering down of ILR. Allies of Shabana Mahmood saying she is holding fast. @martinabettt thesun.co.uk/news/39044367/…

More than 200,000 migrants are now thought to have reached the UK in small boats since the crossings began in earnest in 2018. The figures will be confirmed tomorrow by the Home Office.

EES is disproportionate for U.K. passport holders imo. British tourists are generally low risk travellers to the EU and (as Greece has recognised) also significant net contributors to their economy. We don’t require fingerprints from them for a U.K. ETA and they can get one easily online before travel. Plus they can use e gates on arrival here with minimal queues. If they want to boost tourism revenue from U.K. nationals then they should change the regulations requiring biometric capture under supervision on arrival for U.K. visitors, ditch the fingerprints requirement, and allow this to be done on line by mobile app prior to travel as part of the check in process. We have the technology.

EU entry-exit system: the Greek decision unilaterally to abandon biometric checks for British travellers has worked wonders for bookings. In the last two weeks of April, Advantage Travel Partnership reports Greece overtaking mainland Spain in summer sales. independent.co.uk/travel/news-an…

Two people arrested after BBC asylum investigation - BBC News apple.news/Ai0f6cE9ET_mFH…

@TalkTV @JuliaHB1 Good to chat as ever @JuliaHB1 @TalkTV

"Migrant hotels have become a complete epidemic in this country." Former Head of UK Border Force Tony Smith says the Government need to "break the cycle" of putting large numbers of undocumented migrants into hotels. @JuliaHB1

@Express_Knowles @Daily_Express Yes as I have said many times the lack of a serious removals deterrent for boat arrivals who claim asylum in the U.K. is the main reason why more keep coming. Yes this government has raised the returns rate - but not very many of those were asylum seekers coming by small boats.

Exclusive @Daily_Express investigation: Britain’s asylum crisis has led to a “complete systemic breakdown” as the vast majority of Channel migrants are dodging deportations. A staggering 96,002 asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Eritrea have arrived in small boats between 2018 and 2025. But only 495 - 0.5% - have been sent back to these countries in seven years. That's right, 495. New figures, obtained for the first time by the Daily Express, also reveal more small boat migrants have been returned to Ireland, 57, than Syria, 55 and Afghanistan, 16. Just 108 of the 30,269 Iranians who arrived by dinghy have been deported to Iran and six to Eritrea between 2018 and 2025. Migration Observatory analysis shows 19,154 Eritreans have been detected leaving France. And 365 of the 19,157 Iraqis have been removed. Only seven of the 12,633 Sudanese migrants to have crossed the Channel have left. In total, immigration officials have returned small boat migrants to 67 countries. This includes the United States of America, Dominica, Portugal, Spain, Croatia, Poland, Spain and Switzerland. Some 41 countries have taken fewer than 10 small boat migrants back.

@GBNEWS frontex.europa.eu/media-centre/n… these are the @Frontex figures on detections of irregular migrants Q1 2026 I refer to here. Numbers down significantly - but yes once in the EU it’s a straight run through to the U.K. border with France. And the EU won’t take them back, of course.

'They're going to keep coming!' Former Director General of UK Border Force, Tony Smith responds exclusive footage obtained by GB News that shows hundreds of male migrants crossing the border into the EU.

.@ShabanaMahmood has said she wants more refugees to come to Britain through safe and legal routes once Labour has “fixed” the broken asylum system @AlexJJNorris @MikeTappTweets @PoliceInspForum @FortinusGlobal @MigObs @migrationCtrl @MigrationWatch @APPGMigration @DannyShawNews telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/0…