British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome to discuss tackling illegal immigration, following another tragic Channel migrant shipwreck that claimed eight lives.
Starmer, who has vowed to fight illegal immigration, is seeking to address the long-standing issue that has sparked far-right riots and unrest in the UK. The perilous cross-Channel journeys attempted by migrants from northern France have posed a significant challenge for successive British PMs.
The UK PM has rejected the previous government’s plan to expel all illegal migrants to Rwanda, instead expressing interest in Italy’s strategy. Italy has signed agreements with Albania and Tunisia to manage migrant centers and process asylum claims, with a focus on returning those with rejected claims to their country of origin.
“It’s in early days, I’m interested in how that works, I think everybody else is,” Starmer said of the Italian scheme. He added that he and Meloni “have already discussed how we can improve joint operations, so that is something we will discuss.”
The meeting between Starmer and Meloni comes as migrant arrivals by sea in Italy have dropped significantly since the start of the year, with 44,675 people arriving between January 1 and September 13, compared to 125,806 in the same period last year.
The UK’s new Border Security Command chief, Martin Hewitt, will accompany Starmer on his trip to Italy, as they seek to address the complex issue of migration and find effective solutions to the crisis.
