Keir Starmer brushed aside criticism over his interest in Italy’s tough immigration policies as he battled to end the small boats crisis.
The Prime Minister said Italy had made “remarkable progress” driving down illegal migration to its shores by 60% last year as he visited Rome for talks with hard-right Italian PM Giorgia Meloni.
But his enthusiasm sparked a backlash, with one Labour MP hitting out at Ms Meloni’s “extreme far right government”.
The Italian Government has brokered a deal to send asylum seekers to Albania to have their applications processed, which is known as offshoring. Ms Meloni told a joint press conference that she had discussed the Albanian deal with Mr Starmer, adding: “The UK Government has shown great interest in this agreement.”
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Mr Starmer recently suggested he was watching the controversial project with interest but signalled that he was particularly focused on Italy’s deals with North African countries Tunisia and Libya to stop asylum seekers leaving. He said Italy’s reduction in unauthorised migrant numbers was “more likely attributable to the work that the PM has done upstream”.
He added: “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 in any of our countries. I was very interested in that. In a sense, today was a return – if you like – to British pragmatism.”
The UK will hand over £4million to the Italian Government for projects in Africa aimed at reducing the number of people making dangerous crossings into Europe. Both countries will also work closely in sharing intelligence to disrupt people smugglers.
Mr Starmer is under pressure to tackle dangerous crossings after yet another tragedy in the Channel which claimed eight lives. Over the weekend almost 1,100 people arrived in the UK by small boat.
But his comments drew questions over whether the UK should be cosying up to a right-wing Government, which has been accused of turning a blind eye to human rights breaches.
Grilled on the concerns, Mr Starmer told reporters: “Italy is an ally. It’s a G7 member and ally. It’s a NATO ally. We share a long history.”
He added: “In relation to migration, we have got a common challenge, and I think the more we can collaborate and cooperate with our partners on a shared challenge, the better.”
He was also challenged over Italian Deputy PM Matteo Salvini, who is being pursued by prosecutors for blocking a migrant boat from docking in August 2019 for nearly three weeks. Mr Starmer refused to say if he was comfortable working with him, adding: “Italy’s an ally and we work with our allies.”
His decision to work closely with Ms Meloni hasn’t been welcomed across his party. Labour backbencher Nadia Whittome posted on Twitter: “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.”
A No10 spokeswoman said the Government takes concerns “very seriously” about the treatment of asylum seekers in Tunisia and Libya, who are being paid by the Italian Government to stop people arriving on their shores.
She said: “Obviously we take that incredibly seriously and want to be working more closely with countries upstream. The principles that we’ll be following in everything that we do is that it is workable, affordable and in line with international humanitarian law.
“But it is vital that we stop people from starting these journeys, we’ve seen far too many deaths in the Mediterranean as well as the Channel. So it’s incumbent on us to take an international approach to an international challenge, to stop more lives being lost at sea, not just from the Channel, but also in the Mediterranean.”
The PM also announced investments from two major Italian firms in the UK after meeting business leaders in Rome. Aerospace firm Leonardo will invest £435 million in 2024, while steel manufacturer Marcegaglia, will invest £50 million in Sheffield to build a new clean steel electric arc furnace, creating 50 new jobs.