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TOUGH TALK
Keir Starmer ‘not squeamish’ about deporting failed asylum seekers to third countries & reveals ‘Return Hubs’ talks
Sir Keir insists his plan is different from the Tories’ Rwanda plan, which he axed on his first day in the job
EX-human rights lawyer Sir Keir Starmer says he is not “squeamish” about deporting failed asylum-seekers to Balkan nations — despite an early knockback from Albania.
Despite scrapping the Rwanda scheme as his first act in power, the PM yesterday said he is in negotiations with a number of nations to house migrants from Britain.
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But he was humiliated by Albanian PM Edi Rama, who swiftly ruled out a deal with his country.
On a visit to the Albanian capital Tirana, Sir Keir said he is in talks about setting up “Return Hubs” to house those who have exhausted their attempts to stay in the UK but refuse to return to their country of origin.
Quizzed by the Sun, the Labour leader insisted he is ready to take the tough action needed on deportations, despite decades campaigning against immigration laws and seeking to ground flights.
He said: “It’s really important that we take control.
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“We get those numbers down, and we have an immigration system that’s controlled, that is selective, where we’re getting those high-value migrants that we need into our economy.”
Sir Keir said he has worked with Albania before and helped to kick out criminals as Chief Prosecutor, adding: “This is not new territory for me.”
Pushed on his former role as an advocate for human rights who attacked similar schemes planned by the Tories, the PM insisted he had not U-turned on the issue.
Sir Keir said he had previously “instructed my prosecutors to go into court to seek deportation orders on appropriate occasions”.
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He added: “I worked with my teams during that time to extradite dangerous criminals to countries where they were going to be tried.”
But in a blow to the PM, Mr Rama immediately ruled out hosting a British return hub similar to a deal Albania had made with Italy.
Sir Keir Starmer has unveiled a sweeping immigration overhaul - vowing to -finally take back control of our borders
KEIR: I’M NO QUITTER
By Harry Cole in Albania
SIR Keir Starmer suggested he might quit as PM before the next election — before issuing a hasty clarification.
Asked if he will fight the next election, he told GB News: “You’re getting way ahead of me.”
But he was later forced to clarify his stance, saying: “Of course I am going to stand at the next election.
“I’ve always said this is a decade of national renewal that I intend to lead.”
“They were part of what we were arguing for at the last election and of course we’ve got a lot more work to do but we’re making huge progress.”
The pair were speaking during the first visit by a British Prime Minister to the Balkan state.
Britain and Albania have had a fractious relationship over the number of illegal migrants and criminals coming here from there.
Asked if he would replicate the Italian deal with the UK, Mr Rama said: “I have said from the outset, it is a model that takes its time to be tested and if it works it can be replicated but not in Albania but other countries in the region.
“To be very frank with you, we have been asked by many countries but we said no, as we are loyal to our marriage with Italy.”
But insiders insist No 10 is in talks with other Balkan states, including Serbia and North Macedonia, and other countries around the world including in Africa.
Sources said the scheme is designed to act as “a deterrent to those wasting time to remain in the UK”.
Sir Keir insists it is different from the Tories’ Rwanda plan, which he axed on his first day in the job.
The PM said: “They need to be returned and we have to make sure they’re returned effectively and we’ll do that, if we can, through return hubs.”
He added: “No single measure is going to be the measure that is, if you like, a silver bullet.
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"By putting it all together — arrests, seizures, agreements with other countries, returning people who shouldn’t be here, and return hubs — if we can through these talks to add to our armoury, it will allow us to bear down on this vile trade and to make sure that we stop those people crossing the Channel.”
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The PM is struggling to contain illegal migration as a record 12,000 small boat arrivals have already crossed from France this year.
No 10 said: “It was clear that across all areas of the relationship — from defence and security to trade, migration and economic growth — the partnership between the UK and Albania was thriving.”
NO-SHOW PUTIN
THE PM blasted Russian leader Vladimir Putin after he failed to turn up to a Ukraine peace summit.
Sir Keir Starmer said the tyrant, inset, was “dragging his heels”. He said: “It is Putin who is causing the delay in a ceasefire . . . standing in the way of that peace.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called Putin’s bluff by offering to meet in Turkey. But he refused to leave Moscow and sent his minions instead.
Mr Zelensky met Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara and dismissed the Russian delegation as “theatre props” with no power.
The Kremlin earlier called Mr Zelensky a “clown and a loser”.
US President Donald Trump, on a Middle East tour, said: “I don’t believe anything’s going to happen, like it or not, until (Putin) and I get together.”
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