One of the first things Keir Starmer did on entering Downing Street in July was to abandon the previous government’s Rwanda asylum partnership. The Prime Minister said Rishi Sunak’s flagship scheme was a costly gimmick. But it now appears the PM is considering an asylum processing scheme of his own, which could see migrants removed to Albania. Speaking ahead of a visit to Rome today to meet with the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, Starmer said he was ‘interested’ to see how Italy’s own migrant processing scheme with Albania might work. He revealed he had already had some discussions with Meloni on how the two can ‘work together on irregular migration’.
Meloni signed a deal with Albania last year, which allows Italy to send some asylum seekers to that country to have their claims processed. The success of this arrangement has yet to be tested (as it has not been fully implemented), but Meloni is said to have more than halved crossings to Italy this year.
The cost of the Albania scheme has yet to be disclosed
Starmer faces significant pressure to stop small boat crossings.
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