Our Team
Our Team
Our team of international consultants all have significant experience and expertise in border management including immigration, customs, police and security controls both in the UK and overseas.
Tony Smith CBE
TONY SMITH is a global expert in border security and leadership.
Tony retired as Director General of the UK Border Force in March 2013, after completing over 40 years’ service in the UK Home Office.
Tony was the Senior Responsible Owner and gold commander for the UK Border Agency’s London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Programme. He delivered his mission to contribute to a safe secure and inspirational Olympic Games by facilitating the entry of the vast majority of people and goods coming to the Games, whilst protecting the public from those that may cause harm.
Tony was educated at St Clement Danes Grammar school in West London. He is a qualified legal executive and an accredited Programme Sponsor. He started his career as an immigration caseworker in 1972 and has a long and distinguished career in the UK Immigration Service having served at all grades from immigration officer through to Director General, culminating in his appointment as Director General of UK Border Force in 2012.
Tony has the unique distinction of having served as Head of Borders in 2 different countries – Citizenship and Immigration Canada (2000 – 2003) and the UK Immigration Service (2005 – 2007). He played a significant role in the operational response to the terrorist attacks in North America on 9/11 and in the UK on 7/7. Tony also led the development and establishment of local immigration teams across London and the South East, and the delivery of Home Office PSA targets on removals and case conclusions (2007 – 2009).
Tony (full name Anthony John Smith) was awarded the prestigious title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the UK New Year’s Honours List 2013, for his services to the safety and security of the London 2012 Olympics.
He is now a global border security expert and leadership consultant.
Kevin Franklin
Currently working as a senior customs consultant with Fortinus Global to support businesses develop and implement new border strategies, software products and wider customer services, helping UK importers and exporters negotiate UK border controls and customs procedures, facilitating international trade and economic growth.
Kevin retired from the Civil Service as Director Customs Transformation at HM Revenue and Customs, after completing 43 years of service in the Public Sector. His Civil Service career had four key themes: International trade policy and practice; business systems, IT and efficiency; delivery of large-scale change; and law enforcement at the border.
He offers a unique perspective on Customs controls and International Trade facilitation, having led the implementation of customs and trade policies; worked in port operating environments; and delivered large-scale border change programmes in the UK and the US, during a career in which he worked at four Whitehall Departments – HM Customs & Excise; HM Revenue and Customs; Department for Trade and Industry; and the Home Office.
Kevin began his career with HM Customs & Excise in 1977 as an import specialist in the regional office of London Port. He moved to Customs HQ in 1987 where he was instrumental in delivering the design, development and implementation of the national automated customs declaration system (CHIEF), supporting all movements of goods in and out of the UK and collects annually, over £30bn of tax and duties.
He later worked with the US Customs Service to lead a joint UK/USA project in partnership with multi-national companies to modernise international trade procedures and deliver a single automated system to manage imports and exports between the two countries.
Kevin joined the Home Office in 2008 to lead the integration of the work, people and operating procedures of Customs and the Border and Immigration Agency at the main points of entry to the UK, establishing a unified Border Force in 2009.
Before returning to HMRC in December 2013 as Director of its Department-wide Change Portfolio, Kevin was Head of Intelligence and then Director National Customs Operations at the Border Force.
In 2014 Kevin was appointed Director Customs Transformation, leading the development, build, test and implementation of a Government Major Programme called Customs Declaration Services(CDS), the largest system operating at the UK border designed to collect £34bn of revenue each year and supporting the introduction of new Customs legislation. He also led cross-Whitehall initiatives designed to bring together border-related strategies and technologies with a singular vision to transform the experience of people moving goods in and out of the UK without compromise to border security.
Following the EU referendum in June 2016 his role expanded to lead the delivery of changes to over 30 HMRC systems (covering customs, indirect tax and trade statistics policies and requirements) to support the UK’s exit from the EU, together with the implementation of contingency measures to support the Government’s plans should the UK have left the EU without a deal.
In the 12 months preceding his retirement from the Civil Service in October 2020 Kevin led major programmes to support the introduction of a NI Protocol at the end of the UK’s transition period. These programmes included major change to the customs declaration platforms; arrangements to support the UK’s safety and security; the design of a future operating model to support movements of Ro/Ro traffic in and out of the UK; arrangements to facilitate UK business interfaces with EU systems; and the introduction of a new trade support service to help businesses comply with customs legislation and policies, including the submission of customs declarations to HMRC systems to facilitate imports and exports.
Kevin is a graduate of the Major Projects Leadership Academy (MPLA), established by the Cabinet Office and Oxford University to transform the implementation of Government policy through world-class delivery of major projects; and is accredited as external Review Team Leader and Review Team Member, qualified to review high-risk major government programmes on behalf of the IPA (part of the Cabinet Office).
Glyn Williams CB
Glyn Williams is a senior strategic advisor and renowned expert in immigration and border control.
Glyn entered the world of immigration and borders in 2006 as a director of UKvisas, which was transforming the visa service under the leadership of Mark Sedwill. He subsequently held senior positions as director of immigration policy and head of asylum operations before becoming Director General for Immigration and Border policy in 2017, a post he held in various guises until his retirement at the end of 2021.
Glyn has extensive international experience. He led the UK negotiating team on the Citizens’ Rights chapter of the EU Withdrawal Agreement in 2017/18 and also on the internal security chapter of the UK-EU future relations agreement, reporting to Olly Robbins and then David Frost. He coordinated Home Office no deal planning and preparation for the end of the transitional period in 2020. He was co-chair of the Anglo-French Migration Committee and from 2018 led all discussions with the French Ministry of the Interior on small boats and other migration matters. He co-chaired the Common Travel Area Forum with Ireland and concluded various post-Brexit migration agreements with Switzerland. He was the UK representative to the Migration 5 (US, UK, Aus, NZ, Can) and joint rep to the Border 5. He led the negotiations with India in 2020 on the bilateral Mobility and Migration Partnership.
On domestic policy, Glyn had oversight of the policy and programmes to design and implement the EU Settlement Scheme from 2019 and the Points-Based System from 2020. He was Home Office Gold Commander for Windrush in 2018. He worked on the Immigration Acts 2016 and 2016 (the creation of the compliant environment), the current Nationality and Borders Bill, all the Brexit legislation relevant to borders and immigration and the simplification programme. He has been at the heart of all the major reforms to student, work, family migration routes and asylum and resettlement policy since 2010. He helped design the Hong Kong settlement visa in 2020 and the policy to allow B5JSSK nationals to enter through e gates.
Glyn was a regular adviser to successive Home Secretaries and Prime Ministers on migration issues and a member of the Home Office Executive Committee responsible for the corporate leadership of the Department through a time of significant change. As well having an excellent strategic grasp of immigration and borders policy and its delivery, he has worked closely with frontline staff across the system which helped him to articulate operational concerns to Ministers and, conversely, political imperatives to caseworkers.
Before joining the Home Office, Glyn worked in the Department of Trade and Industry and FCO on trade policy and negotiations, employment policy and energy policy.
Glyn was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 2019 for services to immigration.
Patricia Bell MBE
Patricia has over 35 years’ experience within all the disciplines of UK immigration, and worked with UK law enforcement specializing in criminal intelligence tackling people smuggling and trafficking. She was Deputy Head of RALON (a global Risk and Liaison Overseas Network) from 2006 to 2010 and then Regional Manager RALON Americas from 2010 to 2014. The RALON network identified risk to the UK borders from all sources and provided mitigating strategies and engaged in operational activity. Patricia was awarded an MBE in 2016 for contribution to UK border security.
Since retirement in February 2015 she has developed a consultancy career covering a number of projects, such as: the setting up of a risk assessment unit at the Charity Commission, visa process improvements for Guyana, development and delivery of IOM (International Organisation for Migration) projects (including producing a Maritime Security Manual for the Western Indian Ocean) and the audit and assurance of a text analytic process for the Home Office. Patricia is currently contracted to the IOM in Lesotho with regard to strengthening their immigration intelligence processes.
Chris Hurrey
UK Immigration Service 1976-2010
Foreign and Commonwealth Office 1987-91, 1994-9
Independent consultant 2010-2022
Chris Hurrey is a former Assistant Director in the UK Immigration Service/Border Agency with 34 years’ experience of front-line operations both in the UK and abroad. From the late 1980s he has specialised in the technology which supports border control and migration processing.
He has led innovative projects in watch listing (Warnings Index), visa processing (SECUD and QuickFire), concealed person detection (heartbeat detection), intelligence (DORIS, Mycroft) and knowledge management (Know) and has provided operational input into a number of high-profile Home Office technology projects.
Chris also led the prototyping of biometric-based border crossing systems (IRIS)and other innovative approaches to passenger processing, as well as being a point of contact for advice to technology suppliers and UKBA senior management.
He was an early collaborator and R&D lead in the UKBA’s Semaphore/e-Borders programme and went on to work with overseas agencies on passport and identity verification.
In the past few years he has assisted in the design of trials of e-Gate prototypes in European HORIZON 2020 research projects (FASTPASS, PROTECT and D4FLY) with an emphasis on effectiveness and usability. He has been a contributor to IATA, ICAO, IGC, EU and FRONTEX seminars as well as a speaker at international border security events.
For the last five years he has worked as a consultant in border control operations and technology, with a particular emphasis on advance passenger information, biometrics, passenger self-service and automated border control systems.
Bernard Ley
Bernard has thirty five years experience with UK Immigration encompassing all aspects of border control.
Hi is an accomplished presenter and trainer, fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and French.
His command of languages and profound knowledge of the region meant he was appointed the UK’s first Immigration Liaison Manager to Latin America. His primary task on arrival was to provide local input into the consideration of a visa regime for Brazil. He analysed the migratory and economic trends of the country and interacted with senior Brazilian officials. His recommendation that a regime was not necessary was accepted by UK Directors and Ministers.
He conducted training courses for border staff in eleven countries, which were widely acknowledged as the best in the region. This afforded him prestige with national Immigration directors, with whom he formed a close working relationship. A particular case was Migración Colombia, where he guided and advised them through the period of inception. Information from this organisation enabled him to identify 150 Colombian criminals operating in the UK with false identities and nationalities. It subsequently resulted in Bernie being awarded a commendation from the Metropolitan Police.
Bernard Ley
Sue Jackson, recently retired (April 25) Intelligence Officer of 20+ years with UK Border Force with extensive experience in profiling and targeting. Held IPP accreditation. Joined Home Office in 1982 as graduate in political science from Lancaster University, completing 43 years in government service.
Specialised in Organised Immigration Crime investigation, identification and targeting to disrupt travel of offenders to the UK, and risk assessment of threats to UK Border Control. Based at Gatwick Airport led numerous investigations into organised crime groups resulting in successful disruption of high-profile activity and prosecutions.
Bernard Ley
Throughout his career, Jeff worked on a wide range of complex initiatives involving immigration and border security, with a particular focus on biometrics, fingerprint information, identity management, and the responsible sharing of information across borders.
One of the highlights of his career was serving as Deputy Director of the International Fingerprint Sharing initiative. In that role, Jeff worked with five international partner countries to develop policies and agreements supporting the secure exchange of biometric information. He was involved in international negotiations, privacy and governance considerations, and building the relationships necessary to make cross-border information sharing work in practice.
Jeff also held a senior position with the Canada Border Services Agency, where he worked on Advanced Passenger Information and Passenger Name Record initiatives and collaborated with Canadian and international partners on border security, information sharing, and risk assessment.
Over the years, Jeff has seen firsthand how biometrics can bring together technology, security, privacy, policy, and — most importantly — people. His experience has given him a practical perspective on both the opportunities and challenges involved in implementing biometric and identity-management programs across government and international boundaries.
Now retired from the Canadian Public Service, Jeff enjoys sharing the experience and lessons he gained over a 35-year career and contributing to conversations about the future of biometrics, immigration, border security, and international cooperation.
Lisa Rose
Lisa Rose is an immigration and border security professional with more than 30 years’ experience in the UK Home Office. Her career spanned visas, casework, appeals and asylum, with a consistent focus on countering system abuse and strengthening border security. She held a series of senior intelligence leadership roles, serving as Head of Intelligence for Managed Migration (from 2004), London and South East Region (from 2007), Organised Immigration Crime (from 2009), Immigration Enforcement (from 2012), and Border Intelligence (from 2014).
Throughout her career, Lisa championed the principle that intelligence should inform decision-making at every level of an organisation—from policy development and caseworking to enforcement and prosecution—to protect the public from harm. She led teams of up to 900 staff, driving performance through a focus on operational impact, disruption of criminal activity, and cost savings for the UK.
Her expertise includes threat assessment and management, intelligence-led operations, partnership working, organisational transformation, and capability building. To meet evolving operational priorities, she led multiple restructures of intelligence functions, moving from a regional hub-and-spoke model to a national operating model that integrated overseas teams, before introducing a capability-focused, threat-agnostic approach.
Lisa was responsible for Home Office Intelligence during the London 2012 Olympics, developing a joint Concept of Operations (CONOPS) with partners to help ensure a safe and secure Games. She also delivered a lasting legacy through the creation of a simplified gateway for intelligence into the Home Office.
During Brexit, COVID-19 and other major incidents affecting the border, Lisa ensured her teams provided comprehensive intelligence assessments, scenario modelling and operational insight to support frontline activity in the UK and overseas. This enabled the Home Office to facilitate the flow of legitimate travel and trade while maintaining border security.
She also led the redesign of the border targeting operating model, shifting the focus from modes of travel to threat-based targeting and fostering a stronger ‘One Team’ culture across border operations.
A strong advocate for innovation, Lisa embedded continuous improvement methodologies, delivered a new border intelligence workflow system, advanced the use of data analytics, and strengthened collaboration with UK law enforcement, EU partners, the B5 alliance, and international enforcement organisations through both virtual and co-located working arrangements.
In addition, Lisa was a passionate champion of professional development. She led the creation and delivery of the UK’s Intelligence Analyst Apprenticeship, chairing the cross-sector Trailblazer Group comprising public and private sector organisations. From 2021 until her departure from the Home Office in September 2025, she served as Head of the Home Office Intelligence Profession, leading initiatives to strengthen professional standards, capability and maturity across the intelligence community.