Sunak set for deal to speed up return of Albanian migrants

RISHI SUNAK is set to announce an immigration deal with Albania as soon as today that will speed up deportations to the Balkan state.

After weeks of intense negotiations with the Albanians in which the Prime Minister has been directly involved, Mr Sunak will outline plans to stem the record-breaking flow of small boats across the Channel fuelled by a surge in migrants from the country.

He is expected to propose that putting Albania on a par with “safe” EU countries would pave the way for fasttrack deportations of Albanian migrants. Ministers will attempt to head off criticism from human rights lawyers by arguing that the measures are in line with other European nations which treat Albania as safe and thus exclude the right to claim asylum.

Downing Street is also looking at proposals to return Albanians who claim to be victims of modern slavery for their applications to be processed there to prevent them exploiting delays of more than a year to remain in the UK.

A record 3,432 Albanians claimed to be trafficking victims in the first nine months of the year, making them the biggest nationality making applications under the Modern Slavery Act.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Defence confirmed 44,867 migrants had crossed the Channel so far this year after more than 550 braved freezing temperatures over the weekend.

Albanians have accounted for more than 12,000 or around 30 per cent of this year’s arrivals. Mr Sunak has made clear that tackling illegal immigration is a top priority, alongside the economy, cost of living and NHS backlogs.

No10 also wanted to set out a new immigration strategy before restless Tory MPS returned to their constituencies for Christmas. Legislation enacting any changes will come in the new year.

Mr Sunak spoke with Edi Rama, the Albanian prime minister, earlier this month and the two agreed that they need to do more to tackle illegal migration. They discussed “closing loopholes that are preventing the rapid return of failed asylum seekers”.

Mr Rama has previously signalled his backing for the UK “tightening its own [immigration] systems” as Germany did when it faced an influx of Albanians. He has insisted that Albania is “safe” as a Nato member seeking membership of the EU but also demanded assurances over UK work visa routes for Albanians.

A former immigration minister said: “Many European countries treat Albania

as automatically safe despite being bound by the same refugee convention and modern slavery treaty obligations that we are.

“There is no reason at all why we should not simply automatically and immediately return all Albanians. It is an obviously safe European country. The deterrent effect would mean they soon stop crossing the channel.”

Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, said Albania was the Home Office’s “number one priority”, adding: “It is very hard to see how Albanians should be able to successfully claim asylum here in the UK. We have a returns agreement, which was signed a year ago, and 1,000 Albanians have gone back already,” he said.

‘It is an obviously safe European country. The deterrent would soon stop them crossing Channel’