Albania's new ambassador to Britain, who will work with the government to help stop the small boat crisis, has illegally sneaked into Britain in the back of a truck.
Uran Ferizi, 42, submitted a false asylum application when he arrived in Calais in 1998, claiming to be Kosovar and giving a false date of birth.
Last week he was officially accepted by David Cameron's Foreign Office – despite reservations from the Home Office – as Albania's official representative to Britain and will now be formally appointed by the King at Buckingham Palace.
But last night Albania's former foreign minister, Edith Harxhi, said: 'It is not diplomatically, morally or ethically right for someone who entered Britain illegally to be appointed ambassador. The migration crisis must be taken seriously.'
Mr Ferizi will act as a liaison between Albania and the UK governments to curb illegal migration.
Over the past decade, thousands of Albanians have entered Britain illegally, in trucks from Calais and on small boats across the Channel.
Uran Ferizi submitted a false asylum application when he arrived in Calais in 1998, claiming to be Kosovan and giving a false date of birth
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly praised Britain's 'operational cooperation' with Albania to tackle illegal migration
Multiple sources have confirmed that Mr Ferizi arrived in Britain as an illegal migrant – without any identification documents when he came to Dover, falsely claiming to be fleeing the war in Kosovo.
He was allowed to stay while his case was reviewed.
Public records show that he married a British woman named Sarah Lennon in May 2000 in Hammersmith, west London.
On the basis of this marriage, he received a permanent residence permit in Great Britain three years later.
Despite never having served in the diplomatic service, he was nominated by the Albanian government for the prestigious post of ambassador in June. Sources claim he has close ties to the country's socialist leaders.
It is understood that Suella Braverman's Home Office raised concerns about Ferizi's appointment when he was nominated, but these were rejected by the Foreign Office.
According to his online CV, Mr Ferizi is a mathematician and computer scientist who studied at the University of Oxford and University College London.
He was a financial analyst at JP Morgan in London between 2006 and 2008 before moving to the US to work as a research scientist at the Universities of New York and Stanford, California.
Before taking up his role, Ferizi will visit Buckingham Palace to present the king with his 'Letter of Credence', a formal letter from the Albanian head of state stating that he can be trusted.
Traditionally, the King then has an informal conversation with the new ambassador about the most important issues facing the home country.
Last week, Uran Ferizi was officially accepted by David Cameron's Foreign Office, despite reservations from the Home Office
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly praised Britain's 'operational cooperation' with Albania to tackle illegal migration.
But Ms Harxhi, a member of Albania's conservative Democratic Party, said Ferizi's appointment “shows that we are only paying lip service to stopping the boats.”
She said: 'The ambassador's job in London is the most important and prestigious after Washington, but [Ferizi] has no diplomatic service experience.” She said a census shows that Albania's population of 2.8 million has fallen by almost 1.5 million since 2011.
She said: 'I believe the majority of those people went to Britain. Many Albanians see it as a welfare state for the poorly educated.
'These are mainly people from Northern Albania, where there has been virtually no investment. To stop illegal migration, the government must improve the lives of its citizens.'
Last night Mr Ferizi said he had yet to 'start his work properly' and was therefore not allowed to speak to the media.
The Foreign Ministry would not comment on the immigration status of any individual, adding: “It is up to Albania to recommend a candidate for ambassador.”