Government's £3.75m ad campaign to persuade Albanians not to come to UK flops despite portraying our country as a terrible place to live
A social media campaign designed to deter Albanian migrants from coming to the UK by talking about how awful it is has been a dismal failure, according to officials. The Histori Nga Britania (Stories from Britain) series is funded by the Foreign Office as part of a £3.75million-a-year campaign to disrupt 'irregular Albanian migration,' The i Paper reported. The campaign features shots of a grey, depressing-looking country intended to paint the UK in the worst possible light and discourage Albanian migrants. Shutters on stores remain closed, estates look tired and in need of a lick of paint, antisocial behaviour spikes loom above open bins. In posts on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, Albanian immigrants in the UK discuss the challenges of living here. In the videos Albanians discuss how expensive the UK is, the discrimination they have faced and how impossible it is to do anything without a visa. A post of a bearded Albanian man on Facebook features the caption: 'Without a visa, you can't do anything. You can't get a house, you can't start any job, you can't do anything. 'Having a visa makes us live a little differently. When we suffer with a visa, imagine how much you suffer if you are here without a visa.' The Histori Nga Britania (Stories from Britain) series shows images of dreary looking estates designed to deter Albanian migrants from coming to these shores In posts on Instagram , Facebook and TikTok , Albanian immigrants in the UK discuss the challenges of living here The campaign features an almost comically depressing-looking Britain featuring shuttered shops Another image of a man sitting on a steps again seeks to demonstrate the difficulties of life in the UK. The caption reads: 'Rents here are expensive, even though we are not in the first or second zone, they are still expensive but they are affordable if you work. 'Especially if you are two people then it is much simpler. In my job, there was no question of taking me without papers, because recently many illegal immigrants have arrived and the first thing they do is contact the Home Office.'However, according to officials the campaign has not been a success. The i Paper reported that they had seen an internal Foreign Office assessment which concluded 'There is limited evidence on the effectiveness of a dissuasive communications approach.' The social media campaign also includes posts underscoring reasons for Albanians to stay-put, focusing on the deliciousness of Albanian cuisine and the beauty of the landscape. The posts do not make clear that they are essentially taxpaper-funded propaganda, but the Foreign Office did confirm to the The i Paper that they bankrolled the scheme. The initiative started in 2023 under the Conservative administration following a huge upsurge in Albanian migration to the UK starting in 2022. A post of a bearded Albanian man on Facebook features the caption: 'Without a visa, you can't do anything. You can't get a house, you can't start any job, you can't do anything' Antisocial behaviour spikes loom above open bins in one of the bleak-looking shots from the camapign Another image of a man sitting on a steps again reads 'Rents here are expensive, even though we are not in the first or second zone, they are still expensive but they are affordable if you work' The series shows a grey Britain of empty streets and bland council states in a state of disrepairJust two months before the 2024 July general election, then-Tory Home Secretary James Cleverly also unveiled plans to expand a campaign to expose the lies of organised smuggler gangs. The social media campaign was overseen by TAG International, a Westminster-based international development consultancy, The i Paper reported. A Government spokesperson said: 'This account is not run by the UK Government and the views it promotes are from individuals from the Albanian diaspora and those who have returned to Albania. 'Tackling irregular migration and protecting Britain’s borders is a priority for this government.'
