Every year thousands of private flights arrive at airports across the country, with many of those who disembark facing none of the wearisome immigration and customs checks faced by scheduled and charter passengers

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People are always trying to get into Britain, but not always legally. Those who risk their lives crossing the choppy waters of the Channel tend to garner the most publicity when it comes to unauthorised entry. Indeed, their numbers have become a subject of the utmost political sensitivity. Rishi Sunak, who has declared small boats to be one of the five indices by which his premiership should be judged, will have been dismayed by figures showing that crossings since the start of 2024 have reached a record high compared with the same period in previous years. But there is another category of traveller that should be of concern — one as far removed from the desperate world of maritime people-smuggling as it is possible to