Campaigners in the UK who want their government to make drastic cuts to foreign aid and government services similar to those made by the new Trump administration in the US have focussed on a project to provide cars to the Albanian prison service. 

Albania is a popular scapegoat for British rightwing, anti-migration politicians and political activists. However, following tensions between the two countries’ governments on the issue several years, ago a new deal was struck between London and Tirana under which Albania agreed to take back its nationals imprisoned in the UK in return for support to improve its prison service. 

This support came to prominence following a report in tabloid newspaper The Sun this week, titled “SQUANDERFUL WORLD”. The tabloid accused the UK government of “wasting BILLIONS on crazy foreign projects like Kenyan gender lectures while dithering on defence spending.” Among the initiatives singled out was a Foreign Office-funded scheme to supply electric vehicles (EVs) to Albanian prisons.

“The Foreign Office has also offered up GBP500,000 of taxpayer money to buy 15 electric vans being donated to Albanian prisons, secured through a local Porsche dealer,” the article claimed. It went on to highlight that “officials have also earmarked £1.9mn to create jobs in Albania to stop its citizens from leaving the country.”

Other right-wing publications quickly piled on, echoing The Sun’s criticisms. The Daily Mail alleged that “BRITISH taxes are being squandered on shrimp farms in Bangladesh, poetry workshops in Colombian jails and gender lectures in Kenya.” The Daily Express also ran a critical headline: “Britain wastes BILLIONS on foreign projects like shrimp farms in Bangladesh and electric Porsches for Albanian jails – while at-home needs ‘miss out’.”

The UK campaign to cut foreign aid has been stepped up after US President Donald Trump’s administration implemented sweeping budget cuts. Since taking office in January, Trump has enacted a 90-day freeze on all US foreign assistance, including over $40bn in funding through USAID. The move has caused significant disruptions in aid-dependent countries, with reports of job losses and deteriorating humanitarian conditions.

Campaigners in the UK are linking their efforts to Trump-era policies, calling for a British version of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed in the US by billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk. 

But despite widespread media claims that British taxpayers are funding luxury vehicles for Albania, further scrutiny has revealed inaccuracies in these reports. While the UK did provide 15 EVs to the Albanian prison service, they were Volkswagens, not Porsches. The confusion arose from a government contract awarded to Porsche Albania Shpk, a local dealership that also sells other car brands.

The vehicle donation is part of a broader agreement between the UK and Albania, signed under former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s government in May 2023. Under the deal, 200 Albanian prisoners serving sentences in England and Wales will be transferred to Albania to complete their sentences. In return, the UK has committed GBP4.4mn (€5.3mn) to modernise Albania’s prison system, including funding for the electric vehicles and 22 minibuses.

There is also some controversy over the source of the information quoted by The Sun and later picked up by other media. 

The Sun cites former government adviser Jason Brown and the group The Waste Files, tweeting as @UKdogeProject. However, this drew criticism from  freelance journalist and former GB News producer's Charlotte Gill of the DOGE UK campaign, while multiple social media users accused Brown and the authors of similar campaigns of copying Gill’s work. 

The controversy comes amid long-standing tensions between the UK and Albania over immigration. In 2022, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama condemned UK politicians for “targeting Albanians” as scapegoats for Britain’s crime and border issues.

“Targeting Albanians (as some shamefully did when fighting for Brexit) as the cause of Britain’s crime and border problems makes for easy rhetoric but ignores hard fact,” Rama wrote on Twitter at the time.

Following a surge in Channel crossings by Albanian migrants, the UK and Albania signed a security cooperation agreement in December 2022. The deal aimed to strengthen efforts against organised crime and illegal migration, amid rising anti-immigration sentiment in the UK.