The UK has shown “great interest” in Italy’s migration deal with Albania, Giorgia Meloni said, as Sir Keir Starmer claimed his Government would make a return to “British pragmatism” on border control.
The Italian premier also brushed aside humanitarian concerns about the agreement as “completely groundless” while the British Prime Minister praised Rome’s “remarkable progress” in curbing irregular arrivals by sea.
Migration was top of the agenda when Sir Keir visited the Italian capital on Monday to meet his counterpart as he seeks to reset relations with the UK’s nearest neighbours and study the country’s model of border control.
The Meloni government’s response to small boat crossings has seen a drop of more than 60% in arrivals by sea over the past year but critics have argued its agreements with some other countries could put asylum seekers at risk.
It has recently brokered a deal with Tirana which will see irregular migrants who have entered Italy processed in the Balkan nation under Italian jurisdiction, which Ms Meloni said she had discussed with Sir Keir during bilateral talks on Monday.
“The UK Government has shown great interest in this agreement,” she told a press conference at the Villa Doria Pamphilj.
Ms Meloni said they both want “to enhance this very good relationship between Italy and the UK”, and “increase co-operation with the EU while of course respecting the post-Brexit rules”.
The Prime Minister stopped short of explicitly endorsing the offshore processing scheme, which is expected to come into force later this year, insisting he was interested in Italy’s immigration policies more widely.
He later suggested the country’s reduction in unauthorised migrant numbers was “more likely attributable to the work that the prime minister (Ms Meloni) has done upstream” than in the Albanian deal.
“I have always made the argument that preventing people leaving their country in the first place is far better than trying to deal with those that have arrived in any of our countries. I was very interested in that,” he said.
“In a sense, today was a return – if you like – to British pragmatism.”
As part of these efforts, Italy has paid north African countries – where people depart for Europe – to boost border security and coastguard capability, which Sir Keir said seemed to have had a “profound effect”.
The Prime Minister’s emphasis on pragmatism comes after discontent among his back benches over the show of close collaboration with Ms Meloni’s national-conservative administration.
The visit also comes as the country’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini faces charges of kidnap and dereliction of duty over a decision in 2019 to stop a migrant boat from docking. He denies the allegations.
Kim Johnson, the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, told the Guardian it was “disturbing” to see the Prime Minister seeking to “learn lessons from a neo-fascist government”.
Asked what his message would be to critics who are concerned to see a Labour Government taking inspiration from an administration linked to alleged human rights abuses, Sir Keir told reporters travelling with him on the trip: “Italy is an ally. It’s a G7 member, it’s a Nato ally.
“We share a long history, we’ve got strong bilateral relations … We’ve got a common challenge and I think the more we can collaborate and co-operate with our partners on a shared challenge, the better.”
Asked about human rights concerns in relation to Italy’s immigration policies, Ms Meloni told the press conference: “I don’t know what human rights violations you’re referring to, to be totally frank.
“This accusation, I think it’s completely groundless.”
She added that migrants sent to Albania would be dealt with under Italian jurisdiction.
The UK is expected to give some £4 million to an initiative called the Rome Process, an Italian government scheme to tackle the root causes of irregular migration, following the meeting of the two leaders.
Meanwhile, in an effort to renew trade bonds, Italian companies are set to make investments into the UK worth almost £500 million.
Defence, aerospace and security company Leonardo will invest £435 million in 2024 to be spent at their Yeovil site and in technology and research schemes across the UK, according to Downing Street, supporting 8,000 jobs.
Steel manufacturer Marcegaglia will invest £50 million in Sheffield to build a new clean steel electric arc furnace, creating 50 new jobs.
On Monday morning, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper hinted at a British interest in the Italy-Albania deal and insisted it was not the same as the Rwanda plan.
“First of all, this is Italian processing taking place in Albania. It has UNHCR oversight, so it is being monitored to make sure that it meets international standards,” she told BBC Breakfast.
Responding to criticism of Italy’s migration policy, the Home Secretary added: “We’ve always had a history of working with governments that have different political parties that are not aligned.
“That is a sensible thing for any government to do. We have to work with democratically-elected governments, particularly those who are our nearest neighbours, and particularly those where we have shared challenges that we have to face.”
Sir Keir announced he was axing the previous Tory administration’s Rwanda deportation policy as one of his first moves in office and declared ahead of his visit to Italy there would be “no more gimmicks” to curb migration.
The Prime Minister and Ms Cooper have since introduced a new border security command with the aim of rooting out people-smuggling gangs responsible for facilitating small boat crossings through the use of counter-terror style tactics and intelligence sharing with European neighbours.
