Keir Starmer eyes up Italy-style migration deal to curb Channel migrant crossings – as PM unveils new Border Security Commander to help ‘smash the gangs’ behind the small boats crisis _ Hieuuk
Sir Keir Starmer will hold talks in Italy on Monday on paying third countries to help tackle the Channel migrant crisis.
The Prime Minister travelled to Rome last night ahead of intensive talks today with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, who has overseen a sharp fall in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean this year.
He will be accompanied by former police chief Martin Hewitt, who was appointed last night as the UK’s new ‘Border Security Commander’.
Downing Street said the PM wanted to learn from Italy, which has cut the numbers arriving across the Mediterranean from 118,000 to 44,500 in the last year – a fall of 62 per cent.
The two leaders will discuss a radical new scheme which will see thousands of illegal migrants arriving in Italy sent to Albania to have their asylum claims processed.
The Prime Minister will hold talks in Italy on Monday to discuss paying third countries to tackle the migrant crisis
Sir Keir Starmer will attend intensive talks with his Italian counterpart Georgia Meloni (pictured), who has overseen a sharp drop in migrants crossing the Mediterranean this year
It comes as French authorities rescued some 200 people off the coast of Calais over a 24-hour period between Friday and Saturday night. (File image of migrants being brought to Dover as they attempted to reach the UK earlier this month)
Ms Meloni believes the much-delayed plan will act as a deterrent to those seeking a new life in Europe.
However, unlike the UK’s former Rwanda scheme, those found to have valid asylum claims will ultimately have the right to settle in Italy. Sir Keir scrapped the Rwanda scheme in his first week in office, describing it as an expensive gimmick’.
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But speaking at the weekend, he voiced interest in the Italian approach, known as offshore processing.
Asked about the Albanian scheme, he told reporters: ‘Let’s see. It’s in early days, I’m interested in how that works, I think everybody else is.’
The PM will also discuss Italy’s deals with Tunisia and Libya which are credited with helping to slash the number of people arriving from the North African coast.
Tunisia was paid almost £100 million to beef up border security and improve coastguard operations. Italy also supplied patrol vessels to help pick up migrants in Tunisian waters. In a separate deal aimed at boosting diplomatic relations, Italy paid Tunisia £85 million to fund local education and economic schemes.
A No 10 spokesman said: ‘The PM wants to discuss Meloni’s success in tackling illegal migration. Different countries will have different approaches and they will be discussing her country’s approach to tackling migration.’
Ministers are examining whether similar diplomatic and financial deals could be struck with countries like Vietnam, Turkey and Iraq, whose citizens comprise thousands of the migrants arriving in the UK each year.
Ms Meloni had close relations with Rishi Sunak and has been branded ‘far Right’ by some in Labour. Sir Keir acknowledged the Italian PM has ‘strong opinions’ on immigration, but said he was interested in working more closely with her on the issue.
The PM and Mr Hewitt will also visit a coastguard coordination centre in Italy today to learn operational lessons from a country on the front line of the EU’s migrant crisis.
Mr Hewitt is a former chairman of the National Police Chiefs Council and is best known for leading the police response to the Covid pandemic.
Georgia Meloni with Albania’s prime minister Edi Rama. A radical new scheme which will see thousands of illegal migrants arriving in Italy sent to Albania to have their asylum applications processed
The new role, which is expected to command a salary of around £200,000, has been seen by some as a poisoned chalice. Former counter-terror chief Neil Basu turned down the role in the summer after being approached by Labour.
Mr Hewitt last night said he was ‘under no illusions of the challenges that lie ahead, but I am determined to face them head-on’.
As head of the new agency he will play a co-ordinating role in the effort to smash the people smuggling gangs, working with MI5 and MI6 along with the National Crime Agency, Border Force, local police and prosecutors.
Sir Keir said the appointment was a signal there would be ‘no more gimmicks’. He added: ‘Martin Hewitt’s unique expertise will lead a new era of international enforcement to dismantle these networks, protect our shores and bring order to the asylum system.’
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the new government’s approach was already producing results, with closer cooperation across Europe resulting in 70 operations to tackle people smuggling gangs.
She added: ‘With the Border Security Command we can go much further – building new law enforcement partnerships across Europe and getting new powers into place, to go after the gangs, tackle dangerous boat crossings and save lives.’
