QUESTIONABLE SOURCE
A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency, and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for profit or influence (Learn More). Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact-checked on a per-article basis. Please note sources on this list are not considered fake news unless specifically written in the reasoning section for that source. See all Questionable sources.
- Overall, the Centre for Migration Control (CMC) is a right-wing advocacy organization that promotes anti-immigration and nationalist narratives under the guise of policy research. The group’s materials are written exclusively by its founder, Robert Bates, with no visible staff, peer review, or methodological transparency. Therefore, we consider them questionable, right-biased, and mixed in terms of factual reporting.
Detailed Report
Questionable Reasoning: Lack of Transparency, Propaganda, Conspiracy, Anti-Immigrant
Bias Rating: RIGHT (6.8)
Factual Reporting: MIXED (6.1)
Country: United Kingdom
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: Minimal Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY
History
The Centre for Migration Control (CMC) was founded in 2024 as a UK-based advocacy think tank promoting policies aimed at reducing and controlling immigration. The organization operates under Athelney Campaigns Ltd, a private limited company registered in England and Wales. Corporate filings list Robert Bates as the sole director.
The website states that CMC seeks to “highlight the consequences of mass migration” and advocate for “sensible border policies” that it claims would preserve national traditions and ease pressure on public services. CMC identifies itself as a think tank, though it appears to be a single-person operation without an academic or research staff.
External investigations, such as those reported by Byline Times, describe CMC as “a tiny new anti-immigration pressure group” operating out of the Tufton Street network of right-wing policy organizations.
Read our profile in the UK media and government.
Funded By / Ownership
CMC’s About page provides no transparency regarding its donors, funding sources, or financial structure. It lists no trustees, board members, or researchers other than Robert Bates, who writes all of its reports.
Funding appears to come from donations via PayPal, and possibly from media amplification through sympathetic outlets such as GB News and The Sun, which have cited CMC data without apparent verification.
The company’s incorporation filings confirm that Athelney Campaigns Ltd is a for-profit private entity, not a registered charity or nonprofit think tank.
Analysis / Bias
CMC’s stated mission to reduce immigration frames all of its work through a nationalist, restrictionist lens. Articles often attribute social problems, such as crime, housing, and strain on public services, to immigration without presenting balanced counterarguments or contextual data.
For instance:
- “Migrants disproportionately behind country’s surge in arrests” claims foreign-born individuals are 34% more likely to be arrested than British-born citizens. However, the linked full report is unavailable, and neither the methodology nor the data source is disclosed.
- “Just a quarter of new foreign students are on ‘strategically important’ university courses,” similarly provides no verifiable dataset or methodology.
Mainstream analysis indicates that CMC’s claims are often unsubstantiated or misleading. Sky News fact-checked similar claims about migrants and crime, finding the interpretation of official data to be statistically unsound and misrepresentative of underlying Ministry of Justice datasets.
The group’s website also amplifies anti-immigration narratives from low-credibility outlets such as The Sun and GB News, both rated by MBFC as Right-Biased / Mixed in factual reporting.
Critics, including independent researchers, note that CMC functions as a one-person advocacy campaign disguised as a research institute. The reports are self-authored, lack peer review, and frequently contain references to unavailable or broken links.
Overall, the Centre for Migration Control presents itself as a propaganda-style advocacy organization, focusing on promoting anti-immigration sentiment rather than credible policy research.
Failed Fact Checks
- While not officially rated by fact-checking organizations like Full Fact, its lack of evidence transparency and broken source links undermine factual credibility.
Overall, the Centre for Migration Control (CMC) is a right-wing advocacy organization that promotes anti-immigration and nationalist narratives under the guise of policy research. The group’s materials are written exclusively by its founder, Robert Bates, with no visible staff, peer review, or methodological transparency. Therefore, we consider them questionable, right-biased, and mixed in terms of factual reporting. (D. Van Zandt 10/07/2025)
Source: https://centreformigrationcontrol.com/
Last Updated on October 7, 2025 by Media Bias Fact Check
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