Keir Starmer faced humiliation over his latest attempt at a migrant crackdown yesterday.
In a surprise move, the Prime Minister used a trip to Albania to unveil plans to create Rwanda-style centres abroad to house failed asylum seekers from the UK.
But the initiative imploded on live TV just an hour later when his host, Albanian PM Edi Rama, ruled out ever taking part in the scheme.
The plan is a major U-turn for Sir Keir, who branded the previous government’s Rwanda deportation scheme a gimmick and scrapped it within days of taking office.
Towering over Sir Keir at a press conference in the capital Tirana, 6ft 7in Mr Rama said his country had no interest in expanding a similar deal it had struck with Italy.
Leaving Sir Keir squirming, Mr Rama said: ‘I have been very clear since day one when we started this process with Italy that this was a one-off with Italy because of our very close relationship but also because of the geographical situation which makes a lot of sense.’
He added: ‘We have been asked by several countries if we were open to it and we said no, because we are loyal to the marriage with Italy and the rest is just love.’
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp was highly critical of the diplomatic setback.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arriving for a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Edi Ramat at the Kryeministria in Tirana, Albania
Sir Keir Starmer looks on during a joint press conference with Edi Rama on Thursday, May 15
Mr Rama said his country had no interest in expanding a similar deal it had struck with Italy
‘This trip is an embarrassment,’ he said.
‘Starmer jetted off and now the Albanian prime minister has made clear that there will be no UK return hubs in Albania. So, what was the point of this entire visit?’
He added: ‘One of the first acts of this Labour Government was to scrap the Rwanda scheme. Now, with 2025 so far the worst year in history for illegal immigrants crossing the Channel, the Prime Minister is scrambling to stitch together a weak imitation.
‘Starmer has never cared about stopping illegal migration… now he’s in full panic mode, cobbling together half-baked policies to cover up his chaos.’
The blow for Sir Keir comes as he looks to talk tough on immigration to combat the rising threat from Reform UK – despite years of saying the opposite.
Officials last night insisted that return hubs could still be negotiated with other Balkan nations, such as Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia. Ministers are also investigating possible deals with several African states, although not Rwanda.
Sir Keir attempted to brush off the snub from Albania and insisted he was not ready to name the countries Britain is working with on the plans. Officials tried to suggest there had never been any plan for Tirana to be involved, despite travelling there to announce it.
‘At the appropriate time, I’ll be able to give you further details in relation to it,’ the PM said following Mr Rama’s rejection.
The blow for Sir Keir comes as he looks to talk tough on immigration to combat the rising threat from Reform UK – despite years of saying the opposite
Sir Keir attempted to brush off the snub from Albania and insisted he was not ready to name the countries Britain is working with on the plans
Downing Street said the plans were ‘entirely different’ from the last government’s flagship Rwanda deportation scheme
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Speaking before he met with Mr Rama, Sir Keir said he was now in favour of paying to send failed asylum seekers abroad.
He said: ‘What we now want to do and are having discussions of, talks of, is return hubs which is where someone has been through the system in the UK, they need to be returned and we have to make sure they’re returned effectively and we’ll do that, if we can, through return hubs.
‘So that’s what the talks are about. I would say in this area no single measure is going to be the measure that is, if you like, a silver bullet. Putting it all together – arrests, seizures, agreements with other countries, returning people who shouldn’t be here, and return hubs – will allow us to bear down on this vile trade and to make sure that we stop those people crossing the Channel.’
Downing Street said the plans were ‘entirely different’ from the last government’s flagship Rwanda deportation scheme.
But the decision to open talks on paying to send asylum seekers to third countries will leave the Prime Minister open to allegations of hypocrisy.
The surge in numbers threatens to make a mockery of Labour’s plan to ‘smash the gangs’, with ministers now resorting to blaming the fine weather for the increase in illegal crossings
Sir Keir being shown the procedures carried out by search teams as they check vehicles arriving in the ferry port from Italy in Tirana
Sir Keir speaking with a drone operator as he is shown the procedures carried out by search teams
Ministers are now scrambling to find a replacement that could act as a deterrent to Channel migrants following a surge in crossings since Labour came to power. Arrivals this year have topped 12,000 – an increase of 40 per cent on 2024. More than 600 crossed on Monday while the PM was giving a major speech promising a crackdown on immigration.
The surge in numbers threatens to make a mockery of Labour’s plan to ‘smash the gangs’, with ministers now resorting to blaming the fine weather for the increase in illegal crossings.
The new plan will involve paying to send potentially thousands of failed asylum seekers to the Balkans, rather than holding them in the UK until they can be removed.
One Whitehall insider described the plan as ‘Rwanda-lite’ but insisted it still had the potential to act as a deterrent and persuade some failed asylum seekers to return home voluntarily rather than gamble on finding a way to stay in the UK. It will target only those who have exhausted the asylum appeals process.
Q&A
What is a return hub?
A centre in a third country where failed asylum seekers will be sent for processing after their claims are rejected in the UK. By removing them to another country, the Government hopes to reduce their ability to find other reasons to prevent deportation, such as starting a family. Their legal status would remain the same, and attempts to return them to their countries of origin would continue while they reside elsewhere. Any deal would require Britain to pay for each asylum seeker who has been relocated.
Who will be sent there?
Asylum seekers whose claims have been rejected and who have no further routes of appeal in the UK. Downing Street said they will target those whose applications have been rejected and who are seeking to frustrate their deportation or have lost their paperwork. Afghans, Syrians and Iranians will not be part of the scheme because they will not be able to be resettled in their countries of origin.
When will people be sent there?
It could be years before failed asylum seekers are sent abroad as they would have to have exhausted all other routes of appeal – and human rights lawyers have become adept at stringing out applications.
Where could they be located?
Countries who could host such hubs include western Balkan nations such as Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia. The Government is said to be in talks with several of these countries, though Albania yesterday ruled itself out.
How many people will it affect?
Unclear. Officials are unable to state how many failed asylum seekers who have exhausted their options are in the system.
Is it similar to the Rwanda plan?
While it involves asylum seekers being ‘offshored’, that is where the similarities end. The Rwanda plan would have involved sending migrants to east Africa to have their asylum claims processed. It faced a number of legal challenges, whereas return hubs have received approval from the UN’s refugee agency and the EU. Italy, however, has a similar return hub scheme which involves sending failed asylum seekers to Albania while they await deportation, but that plan has been held up by legal action.
When will it happen?
Sir Keir Starmer has said he is in formal talks with several countries. Whitehall sources say the plans are at a relatively advanced stage but there has been a hold-up in talks with European countries about how quickly the hubs can be set up.
