British Ambassador: Albanians, the largest group of foreigners sentenced in UK prisons

2026-04-26 21:35:00, Aktualitet CNA

British Ambassador: Albanians, the largest group of foreigners sentenced in UK

The British Ambassador to Tirana, Nicholas Abbott, spoke this evening about the criticisms of the Albanian Ambassador to Britain, Uran Ferizi, regarding the attitudes of British officials towards Albanian immigrants, whom he said are referred to as a community with problems.

Abbott said in the interview with Euronews Albania that the majority of Albanians in the United Kingdom live normally, work and contribute to the economy.

But he added that there is another reality, which is that according to him, Albanians are the largest group of foreigners convicted in United Kingdom prisons.

“I would very much agree with Ambassador Farizi that we need to be very careful with statistics, with the figures that people use and with the reality behind them. I think he is absolutely right to raise this issue. So he and I have a long conversation about the question of who you would consider to be Albanian in the UK. That would include those who have emigrated from Italy or Greece but who have an Albanian ethnic identity. As a government, we do not do that. We consider Albanian citizens to be those who have an Albanian passport and enter the UK with it. So it is not that simple. The majority of Albanians who live in the UK lead normal lives, quite normal lives, like people here. They have jobs. They contribute to the economy. They have children who go to school. They may have family members living in Britain and receiving medical treatment. But there is also a reality that the government cannot ignore. Albanian nationals are the largest group of foreign nationals sentenced in UK prisons. That is a reality. It is not at all intended to demonise "Nobody. And I think my message, whether I'm talking to Ambassador Farizi, or to members of the diaspora in the UK, or to those who come here, is the same. I recently had a visit from a group of successful businessmen who live in London. I'm not talking about people who run big companies. They're family companies. But they've been there for almost 30 years. They've been successful. They've settled there with their families. They were asking me: what can we do now for our country? How can you help us here in Albania? And I laugh a little, because it feels like I now have a kind of Albanian electorate that I represent ," he said. /CNA