The Sun tracked two migrants from a Holiday Inn in Wembley to Bond Street from where the publication reports 15 shops were hit. They used bags lined with tin foil to stop security tags going off as they left shops.

The pair are reported to have then met up wih others to show off their haul before appearing to pass the goods onto a middle man.

Shoplifting is believed to be a way some migrants pay off those who facilitated their arrival in the UK on small boats.

Reports of some asylum seekers shoplifting comes after the Home Office launched an investigation into claims some may be using payment cards for gambling instead of buying essentials such as food.

A Freedom of Information request made by PoliticsHome showed more than 6,500 gambling payments were attempted by asylum seekers in the past year.

The security guard whistleblower said the police “rarely attend” when security catch shoplifters, who he said have to be released after four hours.

He added: “The situation is getting out of control. We are helpless and cannot tackle the sheer numbers flooding the streets.”

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said it is a slap in the face to British people for “illegal migrants” to break into the UK and engage in “brazen criminality”. He demanded: “They need to be deported immediately.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “No one claiming asylum should be breaking our laws and we will take robust action to remove anyone found to be doing so. Since July 2024, we have removed over 5,000 foreign national offenders – a 14% increase on the previous year.

“We are also cracking down on shoplifting across the country with 3,000 new neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs to keep our communities safe, and introducing tough new laws to tackle retail crime in our landmark Crime and Policing Bill.”

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “Our proactive patrols and activity solved 163% more shoplifting cases this year than last.”