Almost half of all cigarettes smoked in the UK last year – 45% – were illicit, with 32.3% counterfeit, or contraband according to KPMG analysis commissioned by Philip Morris International. And a further 13% were bought abroad…
The black market jumped nearly 20% to its highest level on record, making the UK the second-largest illicit cigarette market in Europe after France. More than ten billion illegal cigarettes were consumed in 2025, costing the Treasury approximately £4.46 billion in lost tax, enough to fund 95,000 police officers. Organised crime gangs are now manufacturing fake cigarettes in factories inside Britain, following high-profile raids, a shift from the usual smuggling routes via Turkey and Belarus…
“Front” shops posing as vape stores, sweet shops, barbers and phone retailers are flooding high streets, with gangs linked to drugs, human trafficking, fraud and money laundering, and accused of intimidating legitimate shopkeepers. There are 79 vape shops on the Home Office’s public register of licensed visa sponsors, including for skilled worker visas…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”