Migrant disaster for Starmer ‘unlikely to strike deal’ today after ‘catastrophic mistake’
The Prime Minister is set to host talks with Balkan nations this week but insiders have warned that the negotiations may not be as straightforward as he hopes.
The Prime Minister is reportedly hoping to secure a returns deal with a Balkans nation this week (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer’s hopes of securing a return hub deal with at least one Balkan nation could be dashed as talks are held today, insiders have warned. The Prime Minister will meet his counterparts from the western Balkans in London in a bid to make deals with the countries similar to the “one in, one out” scheme agreed with France in the summer. Government sources cautioned that Labour’s hopes of using the summit as a “signing ceremony” aren’t realistic, however, with negotiations with Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia still in the early stages.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp also suggested that Mr Starmer had made a “catastrophic mistake” cancelling the Conservative Party’s Rwanda deportation scheme before putting an alternative in place. “Labour made a catastrophic mistake cancelling the Rwanda returns deterrent before it started with no replacement,” he told The Sun. “Their attempts to do a Kosovo returns deal now seem doomed to fail.”
The number of small boat migrants has climbed in recent weeks and months (Image: Getty)
The Government reportedly floated the idea of a returns deal with Albania earlier this year, before Prime Minister Edi Rama ruled it out, accusing Mr Starmer of looking for “places to dump immigrants” in an interview with The Guardian.
The number of migrants returned to France as part of the “one in, one out” treaty is believed to stand at 42 after 16 more people were removed from the UK last week.
According to Home Office figures, the number arriving from France as part of the agreement now totals 23.
Meanwhile, the number of small boat crossings has continued to rise throughout this year, with 369 people making the dangerous journey on Saturday alone, bringing the 2025 total to above 36,000.
With just over two months left of the year, it puts the figure close to the total number of crossings in 2024, which was reported to be 36,816.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has described the UK-France deal as “historic” and said it “sends a warning to those considering entering this country illegally: if you come here by small boat, you can be sent back”.
“This is just the beginning – I will scale up these removals to France,” she said last week. “And I will do whatever it takes to secure our borders.”
