Starmer accused of 'doing a Rwanda' on asylum seekers

Sir Keir Starmer plans to send failed asylum seekers abroad in his latest bid to crack down on illegal immigration and tackle the threat from Nigel Farage and Reform UK.

- MILLIE COOKE, KATE DEVLIN and ARCHIE MITCHELL

The prime minister yesterday announced he was in talks to create “return hubs” overseas for those who have exhausted their options to stay in Britain, a move that sparked criticism from Labour MPs, opposition parties and campaigners.

Critics compared the move to the Conservatives’ controversial Rwanda policy – just a year after Sir Keir ditched the scheme for being a “gimmick”. But in a potential setback to the Labour leader’s plans, the Albanian PM, Edi Rama, insisted his country would not host a return hub for the UK, with the government unable to confirm where such hubs would be located or when they would open.

Speaking during a joint press conference during a visit to Albania, Sir Keir said the UK was having “discussions (on) return hubs – which is where someone has been through the system in the UK, they need to be returned”. While there was no “silver bullet” to solve the problem, the UK was in talks “with a number of countries” on what he said was “a really important innovation”.

But Mr Rama swiftly ruled out Albania being a host to the UK scheme. The country currently operates a similar programme with Italy. “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,” he said, standing beside Sir Keir.

Other countries thought to be under consideration include Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia. The government would not comment on which countries would be involved in the talks but Downing Street said the government is having “formal discussions with partners across Europe”.