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Wearing the wrong type of shoe could land you in a lot of trouble, according to Tony Saint, a former immigration officer at London's Heathrow airport.
Anything too tacky or extravagant - fake crocodile skin, say, or white loafers with tassels - and you will be refused entry, or "knocked-off" in the brutal argot of the UK immigration service.
"Immigration Officers will make judgements about people based on how they look.
"If you see someone from a Third World flight, they may look the part of the international businessman.
"They may have the suit, may have the suitcase, the tie. But just have a look at the shoes and they will be the give-away as to whether they are genuine or not."
Tony Saint spent 10 years on UK immigration's front line, initially at Heathrow Terminal 3, and then at the Eurostar terminal at Waterloo.
He has poured his experiences into his first novel, a darkly comic thriller set in a fictional Heathrow Terminal C which is a murky cesspit of corruption, malice and bigotry.
A lot of this stuff is apocryphal, Saint says, exaggerated for comic effect.
What is real he says - and what he found most disturbing about his time in the service - is the amount of power concentrated in the hands of individual immigration officers.
"Under the Immigration Act, as it is applied, the refusal of passengers who don't claim asylum is all down to the discretion of individual officers.
"The Act says a passenger needs to satisfy the immigration officer that he qualifies for entry.
"That's why you end up with a situation where some officers will refuse several times more than the guy on the desk next to them."
Institutional racism?
Some nationalities, such as Nigerians, are routinely singled out for special treatment, while others are waved through without a second glance.
But Saint insists the service is not institutionally racist.
"Segregation is very much based on nationality.
"The longer you do the job, the less aware you are of the colour of people's skin, the more aware you are of the colour on the front of their passport.
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