The report by The Independent points out that Teleperformance’s UK visa centre in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, was closed down by officials at the country’s tax administration on 18 May after an investigation found it had not registered itself as a business there and had not paid any taxes.

This is despite the French company acting as the sole handler of UK visa applications in Montenegro since March 2014, when it took over the responsibility from the British embassy under a contract signed by the Home Office. Teleperformance is being paid £300m by the Government over five years to deliver similar services in 74 countries across the world.