Most crime committed in Britain is run from abroad, including from Malta, one of the Government's top law enforcement officers has warned.

Bill Hughes, director general of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, told MPs that drugs, people trafficking and firearms crime were heavily linked to ethnic groups from overseas Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor of the Evening Standard wrote.

Mr Hughes described how people smugglers were channelling illegal immigrants to Britain via Malta, Moscow and Rome, while drug dealers were using routes through West Africa and the Balkans to gain access to Britain.