UK urged not to adopt Albania asylum scheme

The prime minister met yesterday with his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, who has struck a deal with Albania for asylum seekers to be processed there.

Unlike the Rwanda scheme, refugees processed in Albania will be able to settle in Italy if their claims succeed.

The UK government is reportedly considering whether to pursue a similar scheme.

Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrants rights director, said: “There should be no question of the UK doing deals to offload its responsibilities onto other countries — not Albania, Rwanda or anywhere else.

“After the Conservative government’s shameful attempt at this, the last thing needed is yet another government pursuing schemes to avoid fulfilling the UK’s comparatively modest refugee obligations rather than showing some leadership and taking responsibility.

“The government should be trying to restore the UK’s battered reputation on refugee issues by repairing an asylum system that’s been deliberately sabotaged by successive home secretaries stretching back years.

“We need safe asylum routes to help end the exploitative practices of people smugglers, and we need a fair and efficient system for processing people’s asylum claims however they arrive.”