The Guardian

Starmer continues immigration push with Albania visit – UK politics live


PM to announce increased cooperation against people smugglers alongside Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama

Here are some more pictures from Keir Starmer’s visit to Albania.

According to Downing Street, Keir Starmer is the first prime minister ever to stage an official visit to Albania. But he has not been inspired by the many news stories saying Albania is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for British travellers. Starmer is focused on illegal immigration, and he is visiting the country to strenghten cooperation on tackling people smuggling gangs.

The UK will step up efforts to break the crime web fuelling illegal migration across the Western Balkans on a historic visit to the region by the prime minister …

There has been a 95% reduction in Albanian small boat arrivals in the last three years, while the number of Albanians returned to the country has also doubled in the past two years, with 5,294 Albanians returned in 2024, more than double the 2,035 Albanian nationals returned two years earlier.

What we have done in our joint work with Albania is shown that by working with other countries – this morning we saw law enforcement from Albania alongside law enforcement from the UK – [we have] driven down those numbers.

I want to see more of that. We are absolutely determined that we are going to clear up the mess that we have been left and make sure that we get the control we need of our borders.

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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/may/15/keir-starmer-rachel-reeves-economy-nhs-kemi-badenoch-uk-politics-live-news-updates

Author : Andrew Sparrow

Publish date : 2025-05-15 09:43:00

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