# Tony Smith CBE

Markdown copy of https://realalpha.app/people/tony-smith-cbe/ on Real Alpha, the best minutes from long interviews with the people building AI. Cite and link the page, not this copy.

Real Alpha has cut 7 moments of Tony Smith CBE (Managing director & chairman, Fortinus Global) talking, from an interview on TRIGGERnometry published Oct 21, 2026.

- Role: Managing director & chairman, Fortinus Global
- About: Led UK Border Force and the London 2012 border operation; advises governments and industry on border management.
- On X: https://x.com/FortinusGlobal

## What Tony Smith CBE said

- [Why Tony Smith says arrivals need longer screening](https://realalpha.app/s/why-tony-smith-says-arrivals-need-longer-screening/)
  TRIGGERnometry · Oct 21, 2026 · 4 min
  > “The passport gives you your name, your date of birth, your nationality, your travel.” — Tony Smith CBE · [23:28](https://realalpha.app/v/lpUVkk2nxhk/?t=1408)
- [Why Tony Smith says deterrence matters more than gang arrests](https://realalpha.app/s/why-tony-smith-says-deterrence-matters-more-than-gang/)
  TRIGGERnometry · Oct 21, 2026 · 4 min
  > “The most important thing, though, you should do is break the business model, right?” — Tony Smith CBE · [32:31](https://realalpha.app/v/lpUVkk2nxhk/?t=1951)
- [Tony Smith says safe returns need suitable vessels and French consent](https://realalpha.app/s/tony-smith-says-safe-returns-need-suitable-vessels-and/)
  TRIGGERnometry · Oct 21, 2026 · 4 min
  > “The first thing you're doing is pulling them out of the water, putting them on your boat.” — Tony Smith CBE · [36:32](https://realalpha.app/v/lpUVkk2nxhk/?t=2192)
- [Tony Smith says French checks cut asylum intake](https://realalpha.app/s/tony-smith-says-french-checks-cut-asylum-intake/)
  TRIGGERnometry · Oct 21, 2026 · 3 min
  > “So we managed to get asylum intake right down from about 100,000 to about 25,000 over two years, which was pretty good.” — Tony Smith CBE · [9:44](https://realalpha.app/v/lpUVkk2nxhk/?t=584)
- [Tony Smith says asylum delays led to temporary admission](https://realalpha.app/s/tony-smith-says-asylum-delays-led-to-temporary-admission/)
  TRIGGERnometry · Oct 21, 2026 · 4 min
  > “we couldn't demonstrate to a court that we could remove this person quickly, so you're suddenly now under pressure to grant them temporary admission into the country.” — Tony Smith CBE · [20:00](https://realalpha.app/v/lpUVkk2nxhk/?t=1200)
- [Tony Smith says leaving the ECHR would not be enough](https://realalpha.app/s/tony-smith-says-leaving-the-echr-would-not-be-enough/)
  TRIGGERnometry · Oct 21, 2026 · 5 min
  > “what you really want is a law that says you can't claim human rights at all, you can't claim anything” — Tony Smith CBE · [43:30](https://realalpha.app/v/lpUVkk2nxhk/?t=2610)
- [Tony Smith says border reform needs legal drafters](https://realalpha.app/s/tony-smith-says-border-reform-needs-legal-drafters/)
  TRIGGERnometry · Oct 21, 2026 · 4 min
  > “the real first thing you've got to do is you've got to find someone that's going to write that law for you.” — Tony Smith CBE · [1:06:00](https://realalpha.app/v/lpUVkk2nxhk/?t=3960)

## The episode

- ["I Policed the Border for 40 Years - the System is Broken" - Tony Smith CBE](https://realalpha.app/v/lpUVkk2nxhk/) · TRIGGERnometry · Oct 21, 2026