His heart pounding, Mohammed stood at a security desk in Vienna airport, watching as an officer leafed through his fake French passport. The young Iranian had left behind his family a few weeks earlier, paying a smuggler €10,000 to get him to Britain. This was the final stage of his journey: a £20 easyJet flight from Vienna to Bristol. He knew that his cover could be blown at any moment.
As he stood there the officer asked a question he didn’t understand.
“I don’t speak English,” he mumbled.
Mohammed started his journey from Tehran
SIMON DAWSON/GETTY IMAGES
After a searching look, the officer let him through. The three friends who had walked through security with him weren’t so lucky. They were all stopped and taken into detention.
A few hours later Mohammed was on