PM Starmer: UK in discussions with several nations on asylum seeker return hubs

During his first official visit to Albania on May 15, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed that the British government is in discussions with “a number of countries” to establish “return hubs” for asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected.

“We are in talks with a number of countries about return hubs and I see them as a really important innovation,” Caliber.Az quotes Starmer as saying per foreign media. 

However, he did not specify which countries are involved in these negotiations.

Starmer explicitly ruled out Albania as a host for such centres. Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama, who was recently re-elected, described the country’s similar agreement with Italy as a “one-off.” Starmer’s visit to Albania focused on agreeing on further measures to combat illegal immigration and organised crime. He stated that the plans are “consistent” with previous cooperation between the UK and Albania aimed at reducing migrant crossings across the English Channel.

The UK government has hailed the partnership with Albania as a success, reporting a 95% reduction in Albanian small boat arrivals over the past three years. Despite Albania’s exclusion, domestic media reports suggest the UK is considering other Western Balkan countries as potential sites for return hubs.

Starmer’s announcement comes amid the unveiling of the government’s controversial Immigration White Paper, which outlines new strategies to reduce migration to the UK. The Prime Minister denied that these measures are a response to the recent rise of the far-right Reform UK party, which advocates for strict immigration policies.

The proposed return hub scheme specifically targets asylum seekers whose claims have already been refused. This approach follows on from the Conservative government’s earlier, costly plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing. However, in February 2024, the parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights ruled that the Rwanda plan violated the UK’s human rights obligations.

By Aghakazim Guliyev