Keir Starmer faces Channel migrant backlash from his own MPs over talks with ‘neo-fascist’ Italian PM Giorgia Meloni as he mulls deal with Albania after latest deaths

Keir Starmer is facing a Channel migrant backlash from his own MPs as he holds talks with his counterpart in Italy. 

The PM is in Rome to meet Giorgia Meloni, with discussions set to include her tough approach to tackling small boats crossing the Mediterranean.

Sir Keir has been joined by former police chief Martin Hewitt, who was appointed last night as the UK’s new ‘Border Security Commander’. 

Downing Street said the PM wanted to learn from Italy, which has cut the numbers arriving across the Mediterranean from 118,000 to 44,500 in the last year – a fall of 62 per cent. 

The two leaders will discuss a radical new scheme which will see thousands of illegal migrants arriving in Italy sent to Albania to have their asylum claims processed.

The issue has been given even more urgency by the deaths of eight migrants who were trying to cross the Channel over the weekend.

But the premier is already facing criticism from his own ranks, with left wingers insisting it is ‘disturbing that Starmer is seeking to learn lessons from a neo-fascist government’. 

Sir Keir at the breakfast meeting with business leaders this morning

Sir Keir will hold talks with his Italian counterpart Georgia Meloni (pictured), who has overseen a sharp drop in migrants crossing the Mediterranean this year

Sir Keir has been joined by former police chief Martin Hewitt, who was appointed last night as the UK’s new ‘Border Security Commander’

It comes as French authorities rescued some 200 people off the coast of Calais over a 24-hour period between Friday and Saturday night. (File image of migrants being brought to Dover as they attempted to reach the UK earlier this month)

Ms Meloni believes the much-delayed plan will act as a deterrent to those seeking a new life in Europe. 

However, unlike the UK’s former Rwanda scheme, those found to have valid asylum claims will ultimately have the right to settle in Italy. 

Labour MP Kim Johnson told the Guardian: ‘Meloni’s approach to Albanian migration has been described as a ‘model of mismanagement and a blueprint for abuse’ by Human Rights Watch. 

‘It is disturbing that Starmer is seeking to learn lessons from a neo-fascist government – particularly after the anti-refugee riots and far-right racist terrorism that swept Britain this summer.

‘Have we learned nothing from the Tories’ failures? Higher security and draconian deportation measures fail to dissuade desperate people from seeking asylum, and risk significant human rights violations.

‘Instead, we should be focusing our efforts on the serious failures in our current asylum system – reduce the backlog of claims, end no recourse to public funds and restrictions on work, and strive to implement a just and humane system for asylum seekers and migrants.’

But Home SecretaryYvette Cooper told BBC Breakfast: ‘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.’

On potential violations of migrants’ human rights in Italy, Ms Cooper said: ‘I don’t think it’s immoral to go after the criminal gangs. Quite the opposite. I think it’s actually a moral imperative to make sure that we are pursuing the criminal gangs who are putting lives at risk.’

She added: ‘So the approach we’ve always taken is to say: you have to meet proper standards, you have to make sure that humanitarian standards are met, and we will continue to do that.

‘But we also have to make sure we’re working to prevent crimes which undermine all humanity when you’ve got those sorts of crimes being committed, when you see the sorts of trafficking operations that can take place.

‘So I think this is about what we do to protect those who are vulnerable, to get border security back in place and to make sure that rules are properly respected and enforced.’

Sir Keir scrapped the Rwanda scheme in his first week in office, describing it as an expensive gimmick’. 

But speaking at the weekend, he voiced interest in the Italian approach, known as offshore processing. 

Asked about the Albanian scheme, he told reporters: ‘Let’s see. It’s in early days, I’m interested in how that works, I think everybody else is.’ 

The PM will also discuss Italy’s deals with Tunisia and Libya which are credited with helping to slash the number of people arriving from the North African coast. 

Tunisia was paid almost £100 million to beef up border security and improve coastguard operations. Italy also supplied patrol vessels to help pick up migrants in Tunisian waters. In a separate deal aimed at boosting diplomatic relations, Italy paid Tunisia £85 million to fund local education and economic schemes. 

A No 10 spokesman said: ‘The PM wants to discuss Meloni’s success in tackling illegal migration. Different countries will have different approaches and they will be discussing her country’s approach to tackling migration.’ 

Ministers are examining whether similar diplomatic and financial deals could be struck with countries like Vietnam, Turkey and Iraq, whose citizens comprise thousands of the migrants arriving in the UK each year. 

Ms Meloni had close relations with Rishi Sunak and has been branded ‘far Right’ by some in Labour. Sir Keir acknowledged the Italian PM has ‘strong opinions’ on immigration, but said he was interested in working more closely with her on the issue. 

The PM and Mr Hewitt will also visit a coastguard coordination centre in Italy today to learn operational lessons from a country on the front line of the EU’s migrant crisis. 

Mr Hewitt is a former chairman of the National Police Chiefs Council and is best known for leading the police response to the Covid pandemic. 

Georgia Meloni with Albania’s prime minister Edi Rama. A radical new scheme which will see thousands of illegal migrants arriving in Italy sent to Albania to have their asylum applications processed

The new role, which is expected to command a salary of around £200,000, has been seen by some as a poisoned chalice. Former counter-terror chief Neil Basu turned down the role in the summer after being approached by Labour. 

Mr Hewitt last night said he was ‘under no illusions of the challenges that lie ahead, but I am determined to face them head-on’. 

As head of the new agency he will play a co-ordinating role in the effort to smash the people smuggling gangs, working with MI5 and MI6 along with the National Crime Agency, Border Force, local police and prosecutors. 

Sir Keir said the appointment was a signal there would be ‘no more gimmicks’. He added: ‘Martin Hewitt’s unique expertise will lead a new era of international enforcement to dismantle these networks, protect our shores and bring order to the asylum system.’ 

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the new government’s approach was already producing results, with closer cooperation across Europe resulting in 70 operations to tackle people smuggling gangs. 

She added: ‘With the Border Security Command we can go much further – building new law enforcement partnerships across Europe and getting new powers into place, to go after the gangs, tackle dangerous boat crossings and save lives.’