Flights, visas, and kidnappers: The new migrant route to Britain episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 24, 2026 · 22 MIN

Flights, visas, and kidnappers: The new migrant route to Britain

from The Story

The Times has discovered that thousands of migrants are using a new, hybrid route to try to come to the UK: legal flights and visas, combined with illegal border crossings. But most don’t make it; the smuggling gangs detain them in Libya, to use them as slaves or for organ harvesting. Our reporter went to meet them.This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryGuest: Shayma Bakht, news reporter, The TimesHost: Luke Jones.Producers: Olivia Case, Julia Webster.We want to hear from you - email: [email protected] more: We stop two small boats a day from reaching Britain, say FrenchFurther listening: Were 60,000 migrants intentionally let into Spain?Photo: Denise Kelly, Dana Chan, Getty Images.This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 24, 2026

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Flights, visas, and kidnappers: The new migrant route to Britain

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