An agency funded by the Home Office to deter Iraqis from illegally moving to the UK has used far right-protests in Britain and the Bibby Stockholm barge to scare migrants from travelling, The i Paper can reveal.
The organisation Seefar, which has received millions of pounds from the Government since 2016, created Facebook and Instagram posts aimed at Kurdish Iraqis thatused illustrations of anti-immigrant rallies overlaid with statistics about the large increase in far-right protests.
In videos, Kurdish Iraqis were asked if they would feel comfortable in the UK given the hundreds of “extremist right wing” and anti-immigrant demonstrations which had occurred in 2023.
Seefar has been responsible for helping implement the UK’s anti-illegal immigration policy in Iraq. It previously ran similar social media campaigns in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
The disclosure comes after The i Paper revealed a Government campaign in Albania to deter illegal migrants, which featured videos calling the UK bigoted and expensive.
In the Albania campaign, black and white images of closed shopfronts covered in graffiti, flats in a state of disrepair and mounds of broken furniture dumped next to a housing estate. Pictures were used alongside monologues of Albanians in the UK discussing the challenges they have faced.
An internal Foreign Office assessment stated “dissuasive” communication campaigns have not been effective and critics have described them as “costly gimmicks”.
Daniel Sohege, a director of human rights policy consultancy Stand For All, said: “Iraqis form one of the largest groups making channel crossings, and we know that Kurdish Iraqis in particular continue to face persecution in areas.
“This type of idea risks emboldening the far-right, but telling them that their tactics of violence and division are working”.
The posts deterring Iraqis from coming to Britain were published by ‘The Migrant Project – Kurdistan’, which is operated by the Hong Kong-registered company Seefar.
The Home Office contracted Seefar to help its strategy to reduce irregular migration from the North East of Iraq although the department said the company’s work ended in September.
Since the contract ended last September, the accounts have been inactive on Facebook and Instagram.
The Government strategy was part of a plan to reduce the amount of migration from certain countries to the UK, where migrants were attempting to move to the UK via small boat.
The Home Office campaign, was primarily focused around training potential migrants with skills and provide work in their home country. However, posts also highlighted the rise in far-right rallies outside asylum centres.
One post from March last year read: “Recent data shows that anti-immigrant demonstrations in the UK are increasing. In 2023, 275 anti-migrant demonstrations took place, indicating that many extremist right-wing parties oppose new migrants to the UK. How would you feel if you migrated to a country and found yourself in that situation?”
Another post had a photograph of the Bibby Stockholm barge to highlight the type of accommodation where migrants could end up.
A Home Office spokesperson said the social media accounts in question are not owned or run by the UK Government.
Seefar did not respond to a request for comment.
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