The Prime Minister said he was interested in “anything that works” to tackle small boat crossings after being asked by The i Paper whether Britain will follow EU countries in seeking to open foreign “return hubs” for migrants.
Earlier this month, the EU unveiled regulations which would allow member states to establish so-called “return hubs” outside the bloc for rejected asylum seekers.
The approach is distinct to “offshore processing”, where asylum seekers are relocated to a third country while their claims are being considered, with Italy recently pursuing such a scheme with Albania.
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The Prime Minister answered: “The in principle approach that we take is that we will look at anything that works.
“But we are working with other countries on anything that we think will work. I obviously, as you know, went over to Italy to visit [Italian prime minister] Giorgia Meloni and to have an in-depth discussion with her about some of the work that she was doing.”
“We’ve spoken to the EU Commissioner about their approach to returns. So we will look at any approach that is workable, as the Prime Minister says that fits with international law.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper delivers a speech during the International Border Security Summit (Photo: Stefan Rousseau / POOL / AFP)
Meloni’s plans for offshore processing in Albania have so far been stymied by the Italian courts, with two migrant centres in the country lying empty since they were opened in October.
In a video message sent to Monday’s summit, Meloni said that she “agree[d] with Keir that we should not be afraid to imagine and build innovative solutions, like the one that Italy launched with Albania”.
Starmer later told journalists: “As you can tell I think from [Meloni’s] message, we are working very closely with her and with the Italians on this.”
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In terms of the possible location of hubs, the department is keen to avoid publicly ruling countries in or out at this stage given the potential to ruffle diplomatic feathers. However, The Times reported earlier this month that countries in the western Balkans, such as Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia, are seen as possible partners.
If the Government does choose to press forward with return hubs, the policy would likely invite comparisons with the Tories’ Rwanda scheme.
The UK Supreme Court previously ruled that Rwanda was not a safe country to send asylum seekers to, although Rishi Sunak’s government later passed legislation deeming it as safe.
A likely objection to the hubs will be that an ever-increasing number of people could end up stuck in limbo if they refuse to return home and cannot be forcibly deported to their country of origin because it is considered unsafe.
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