Islam vs. Europe Criminal gangs in Greece are renting genuine passports and identity documents to thousands of illegal immigrants, enabling them to enter Britain undetected, a Sunday Times investigation has found.

One Athens-based gang supplied an undercover reporter, posing as an illegal immigrant with a French identity card bearing the photograph of a woman who looked like her. The card enabled her to enter Britain unimpeded two weeks ago.

The leader of the gang showed undercover reporters eight identity cards and explained how illegal immigrants wait in a “safe house” until an identity document with a photograph similar to them becomes available. The gang charges immigrants €1,000 (£824) to hire the identity documents, which they use to pass through border controls.

Our reporter used her identity card to fly from Athens to Brussels and then travel to London on the Eurostar. She passed unchallenged through four checkpoints in two countries, including a UK Border Agency check in Brussels.