Keir Starmer is meeting with far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over immigration but has not ruled out processing asylum applications abroad.
Keir Starmer has announced that the UK will give the Italian government £4 million to curb small boat traffic.
The prime minister is in Italy to meet with far-right politician Giorgia Meloni about ways to combat illegal migration. The money will be used for projects in Africa aimed at reducing the number of people crossing dangerous borders to Europe.
Starmer said the leaders had made “remarkable progress” and spoke of “great affection” between the two countries. But this sparked a backlash, with Labour MPs attacking Meloni’s “far-right government”.
After Italy signed a correspondence agreement with Albania, the Prime Minister has repeatedly refused to rule out processing asylum applications abroad. Meloni told reporters that the Prime Minister had expressed “great interest” in the controversial project to send asylum seekers to Albania while their applications are examined.
At a joint press conference in Rome, Starmer said the UK would contribute £4 million to the Rome Process, an Italian government project to tackle the causes of irregular migration. The two countries will work closely together to stop smugglers and will also exchange information.
Meloni said he had observed a 60% drop in small boat traffic over the past year and Starmer wanted to hear how she managed this.
He is under pressure to tackle the dangerous crossing following a fresh tragedy in the English Channel which left eight people dead. Around 1,100 people reached Britain in small boats over the weekend.
Mr Starmer told a press conference in the Italian capital: “I am very grateful to all of you for your continued support of our country. I was very interested in it.
“Today was in some ways a return to British pragmatism. First and foremost, we are realists. When we face challenges, we discuss with friends and allies the different approaches being taken and see what works. That was the approach we took today and it was a very productive day.”
Working closely with Ms Meloni was not welcomed within the party. Labour backbencher Nadia Whittome posted on Twitter/X: “Melone’s far-right government is not a leader on asylum and immigration.
Their policies have been repeatedly criticised by human rights organisations. Instead of learning lessons from them we should be building an asylum and immigration system with compassion at its core.”
Earlier, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK would monitor Italy’s plan to send asylum seekers to Albania while their applications are processed. Under the agreement, Italy would send the men rescued at sea to Albania, where authorities would decide whether to allow them into Europe.
They would not be resettled there permanently, as had happened under the Conservative Rwanda deal. “We’ll have to see what it brings,” Cooper said of the Italian-Albanian agreement, adding that it is “very different from the UK government’s partnership with Rwanda and we’ll have to see how it develops.”
The home secretary added: “This is being done in cooperation between the two countries and what it’s actually doing is looking at people arriving in Italy, who are mainly coming from safe countries, and using that as a tool in our decision-making to expedite their return.”
“We now believe there is another way of speeding up decision-making and the return of people who mainly come from safe countries. We need to process these cases quickly. We need to ensure people do not spend years in the asylum system, which will bring huge costs and confusion. This is the system we inherited.”
Asked if he intended to emulate the Italy-Albania agreement, Starmer told the broadcaster: “I’ve come to this coordination centre to discuss with the prime minister how to deal with illegal immigration. And there have been some quite dramatic cuts here.
“I would like to know how this happened. This appears to be due to some underhanded manipulation taking place in some people’s countries of origin. By the way, I have long been convinced that preventing travel and stopping travel in the first place is one of the best ways to deal with this particular problem,” he said, to discuss the small boat crisis.
“These funds will support vital infrastructure and renewable energy projects in Africa and help reduce the number of people fleeing their home countries and traveling illegally to Europe,” a No. 10 spokesman told reporters in Rome.
The spokesman said the government was taking concerns about the treatment of asylum seekers in Tunisia and Libya “very seriously.” The asylum seekers are being paid funds by the Italian government to stop them from landing.
She said: “Of course we take this very seriously and we want to work more closely with upstream countries. The principle we follow in everything we do is that it is practical, affordable and consistent with international humanitarian law.
“But we have seen too many deaths in the Mediterranean and in the English Channel so it is vital that we stop people from making this journey. “So it is our duty to meet the international challenge with an international approach to prevent any more loss of life, not only in the English Channel but also in the Mediterranean.”
The PM also announced investments from two major Italian firms in the UK after meeting business leaders for talks earlier today. Aerospace firm Leonardo will invest £435 million in 2024, while steel manufacturer Marcegaglia, will invest £50 million in Sheffield to build a new clean steel electric arc furnace, creating 50 new jobs.