Sir Keir Starmer is thought to be ready to take a leaf out of Italy’s book (Image: Getty)
Labour is plotting a series of highly controversial deals with Vietnam, Turkey and Kurdistan in a bit to stem the flow of migrants crossing the English Channel in a move which would echo the approach of Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, insiders have claimed.
And if the new arrangements are put in place, it will undoubtedly raise eyebrows coming just months after Sir Keir Starmer’s Government pulled the plug on the previous Tory administration’s plan to send failed asylum applicants to Rwanda.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is set to finalise “co-operation and security” agreements before the year’s end, reported The Times.
The arrangements are likely to mirror Italy’s strategy of paying large sums to countries in exchange for enhanced efforts to prevent small-boat crossings.
Italy’s recent success in reducing migrant arrivals by more than 60% in 2024 has been hailed as the result of its financial agreements with Tunisia and Libya, which include investments in border security, economic development and training for coastguards.
More than 32,000 illegal crossings have happened so far this year – more than the whole of 2023 (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir praised Italy’s efforts during a trip to Rome in September in which he emphasised the focus on “upstream work” in North Africa, asserting that it is better to address the root causes of migration than to deal with arrivals.
The PM has described the approach as “British pragmatism,” emphasising Labour’s intent to “smash” people-smuggling networks and reduce Channel crossings.
He explained: “I have always made the argument that preventing people leaving their country in the first place is far better than trying to deal with those that have arrived.”
The proposed agreements follow Labour’s scrapping of the Rwanda scheme pushed by Sir Keir’s predecessor Rishi Sunak, which sought to deport asylum seekers to the East African nation.
The Bibby Stockholm barge was used to accommodate asylum seekers under the Tory government (Image: Getty)
First announced in April 2022 under Boris Johnson’s government, the plan was intended to deterring irregular migration and reducing pressure on the asylum system.
However, it faced significant legal and ethical challenges, including being declared unlawful by the UK Supreme Court.
Human rights organisations also condemned it for failing to provide adequate safeguards for vulnerable individuals.
Financially, the plan was projected to cost taxpayers £169,000 per migrant, with an estimated total bill of £140 million, even though no actual deportations ever took place.
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Keir Starmer says Rwanda deportation scheme ‘dead and buried’
A total of four individuals were sent to the country voluntarily under a separate programme. Labour’s new approach comes against the backdrop of an escalating migrant crisis. As of November 11, 2024, 32,900 individuals have crossed the Channel in small boats, significantly more than the total of 29,437 for the whole of 2023.
Critics of Labour’s approach have warned that such agreements could replicate the ethical concerns associated with Italy’s deals with Tunisia and Libya, where migrants have reportedly faced torture and other abuses in detention camps.
Vietnam, a Southeast Asian nation with a population of approximately 100 million, is known for its dynamic economy and rich cultural history. Turkey, straddling Europe and Asia, has a population of about 85 million and plays a pivotal role in regional geopolitics, with strong economic and strategic ties to Europe and the Middle East.
Kurdistan, a semiautonomous region within Iraq, is home to around six million people and has its own government and armed forces, though it remains part of the Iraqi state under federal arrangements.
Express.co.uk has contacted the Home Office for comment.
Kurdistan is a region which includes parts of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Armenia (Image: GETTY)
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Shadow home secretary Chris Philp has said the Government’s potential migration deals with Vietnam and Kurdistan will not “work as a deterrent” but are a “constructive step”.
He told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “They are not proposing, as far as I can see, to have a returns agreement with those countries. They’re proposing to work with those countries to prevent departures in the first place.
“Now that’s all well and good. I’m perfectly happy to support that, but it’s not going to work as a deterrent. To deter people, they need to know that if they illegally and dangerously cross the English Channel, they’re going to be immediately removed somewhere else. And that’s what Rwanda did. These deals don’t do that.”
He added: “The Rwanda scheme never actually started. It was due to start on the 24 July and it would have saved us a lot of money had it been started, because the deterrent would have stopped people crossing the English Channel. We know that because it worked in Australia.”
Mr Philp further stated: “It’s a constructive step, but it’s not going to fix the problem on its own.”
