‘Britain is expensive, run-down and prejudiced’: The ad campaign aimed at driving away Albanian migrants

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Titled “Stories from Britain”, they also contain Albanian refugees complaining about the cost of living in Britain and the prejudice they face, as part of a £3.75m-a-year project funded by the Foreign Office. open image in gallery A previous ad campaign to target people in Albania However, an internal Foreign Office document, seen by the i newspaper, found there was “limited evidence on the effectiveness” of what it dubbed a “dissuasive communications approach”. William Yarwood of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be seriously concerned to see their hard-earned cash being spent on a secretive PR campaign that talks Britain down.” Daniel Sohege, of human rights policy consultancy Stand For All, said: “Campaigns to deter people coming to the UK are not new, and each time they have proven to be a costly failure. They still form one of the largest groups being trafficked into the UK.” open image in gallery Videos on social media show shops covered in graffiti as well as parts of broken furniture In one video, seen by the i, a migrant called Vera warned of “discrimination”, adding: “The mindset that people have about Albanians.