UK PM Keir Starmer is in Rome, meeting with PM Giorgia Meloni. The discussions are set to include her tough stance on small boats crossing the Mediterranean. He has been joined by former Police Chief Martin Hewitt, who has been appointed the UK's new "Border Security Commander."

Downing Street confirmed that the PM wants to learn from Italy, which has reduced the number of illegal migrants crossing the Mediterranean from 118,000 to 44,500 in the last year (2023-20234)—a 62% fall. The two leaders will discuss a new scheme which will see thousands of illegal migrants arriving in Italy sent to Albania to have their asylum claims processed there.

Italian PM Meloni believes the much-delayed Albania scheme will act as a "deterrent" to those seeking asylum and support in Europe. However, unlike the UK's defunct Rwanda Scheme, those with "valid asylum claims" will ultimately have the right to settle in Italy. Human Rights Watch has described Meloni's Albanian migration scheme as a "model of mismanagement and a blueprint for abuse".

The Labour feeling is that focused effort should be made on the severe failures in our current asylum system. The backlog of claims must be addressed, there must be no recourse to public funds and restrictions on work, and everyone must strive to implement a just and humane system for asylum seekers and migrants—illegal or otherwise.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said that we [Labour] have always worked with governments with different political parties that are not always aligned, which is sensible for any government to do. We must work with democratically elected governments, particularly our neighbours and those with whom we have shared challenges to address.

Cooper went on to say that she didn't think it was immoral to go after the criminal trafficking gangs - quite the opposite. She thought it was morally imperative to ensure we pursued the gangs risking lives.

She reiterated that Labour's approach has always been to ensure that humanitarian standards are met and that crimes which undermine humanity are prevented. "It's all about protecting the vulnerable, getting border security back in place, and ensuring that migration rules are properly respected and enforced."

Starmer scrapped the "Rwanda Scheme" in his first week in office, describing it as an "expensive gimmick". But speaking at the weekend (14-15/09/2024), he voiced interest in the Italian approach, known as "Offshore Processing".

When asked about the "Albanian Scheme," Starmer said it was in the early days, but he was interested in how the scheme worked. He will also discuss Italy's deals with Tunisia and Libya, which helped to reduce the number of migrants arriving from North Africa.

Italy paid Tunisia almost £100 million to improve border security and coastguard operations. It also supplied patrol vessels to help pick up migrants in Tunisian waters. In a separate deal to boost diplomatic relations, Italy paid Tunisia £85 million to fund local education and economic schemes.

Starmer acknowledged that the Italian PM has "strong opinions" on immigration and said he was still interested in working more closely with her on the issue. The UK Government is also examining whether similar diplomatic and financial deals could be struck with countries like Vietnam, Turkey, and Iraq, whose citizens comprise thousands of migrants arriving in the UK yearly. Still, no extradition mechanism is currently in place.

Starmer and Hewitt will also visit a coastguard coordination centre in Italy on the 16th to learn operational lessons and pitfalls. Hewitt is a former chairman of the National Police Chiefs Council who led the police response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some have seen his new role, which is expected to pay a salary of around £200,000, as a "poisoned chalice." Former counter-terror chief Neil Basu turned down the role in the summer after being approached by Labour.

Hewitt said he was not under any illusions about the challenges ahead, but he was determined to face them head-on.

16/09/2024

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