Keir Starmer hits it off with Italian PM who swooned over Rishi Sunak

Keir Starmer has hit it off with his Italian counterpart during a visit to Rome.

Hard-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni famously built up a friendship with Rishi Sunak when he was in charge, and the pair were often pictured giggling and embracing. Now Mr Starmer appears to have taken his predecessor’s place in her affections, as they laughed in front of photographers.

Mr Starmer was in the Italian capital to discuss plans to tackle small boat crossings. Ms Meloni told reporters he was particularly interested in a controversial agreement between Italy and Albania.

This will see migrants sent to the Baltic nation while their asylum applications are processed – but they won’t stay permanently in Albania. Mr Starmer repeatedly refused to rule out a similar move as pressure mounts on him to stop dangerous boat crossings following the death of a further eight people at the weekend.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Mr Starmer said it was important to have a close relationship between the UK and Italy. He said: “Our close friendship and partnership with Italy is more important than ever.

“And that’s why it’s so important for me to come so early on as Prime Minister, it’s a real statement of intent. I think we are both ambitious for what we can do together. And that spirit has come through in all our long conversations so far. Not only today but also in previous occasions when we had a chance to discuss a number of issues.”

He announced that the UK would contribute £4million to the Italian government’s efforts to prevent small boat crossings. The money will be invested in projects in Africa aimed at discouraging people from travelling to Europe.

But his decision to work closely with Ms Meloni hasn’t been welcomed across his party. Labour backbencher Nadia Whittome posted on Twitter/X: “Meloni’s extreme far right government is no leader on asylum and immigration. Its policies have been repeatedly criticised by human rights organisations. Far from taking lessons from them, we should be building an asylum and immigration system with compassion at its heart.”

Ms Meloni was a favourite of former Tory PM Mr Sunak. Last year he met her for a drink ahead of a gathering of world leaders at the G20 in New Delhi. Mr Sunak revealed they had agreed to team up to convince European nations to take a harder line on illegal migration. He said: “Obviously this is something that [she] and I have talked about a lot and we talked again about how we can work closer together.”

And in June Ms Meloni asked the then-PM if he was OK as he arrived at the G7 summit. The pair, who are close pals, shared a warm embrace in Puglia, Italy. Ms Meloni, who was hosting the summit, appeared to show concern for the crisis-hit PM as she greeted him before they shared a laugh while holding hands.

She grasped Mr Sunak’s shoulders as he leaned in to kiss her cheek before rocking back and laughing in delight.