UK PM Starmer Meets Italy’s Meloni for Talks on Illegal Immigration

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Monday to discuss strategies for addressing illegal immigration. The meeting came a day after a tragic shipwreck in the Channel resulted in eight migrant deaths.

Starmer, who led the centre-left Labour party to a significant parliamentary majority in July, has pledged to tackle illegal immigration—a contentious issue in British politics for years.

Following Starmer's election, far-right riots erupted across England and Northern Ireland, marking the UK's worst unrest since 2011, with mosques and migrant accommodation centres frequently targeted.

The dangerous journeys across the Channel from northern France have presented a persistent challenge for successive British prime ministers.

On Sunday, eight migrants lost their lives when their overcrowded boat capsized in the Channel, raising the total number of deaths this year to 46 for those attempting to reach the UK.

Approximately 800 people crossed the Channel on Saturday, the second-highest number since the beginning of the year, according to the UK Home Office.

Starmer has dismissed the previous Conservative government's plan to deport all illegal migrants to Rwanda while their asylum claims are processed.

Instead, British media reports suggest he is considering Italy's approach. Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, has overseen Italy’s response to the EU’s migration crisis.

In November of last year, Italy signed an agreement with Albania to establish two centres in the Balkan country to house migrants while their asylum claims are reviewed. Italy will fund and manage these centres, which will accommodate up to 3,000 migrants who have arrived by boat.

Migrants with rejected asylum claims will be returned to their home countries, while those with approved claims will be allowed entry into Italy. This differs from the former UK government's Rwanda scheme, where migrants could not settle in Britain regardless of their claim's outcome.

"It's early days, but I am interested in how this scheme works, and I think others are too," Starmer said of the Italian model in comments reported by British media.

Starmer and Meloni have already discussed enhancing joint operations and will continue to explore these topics during their meeting, scheduled for midday (1000 GMT), according to Meloni's office.

Martin Hewitt, the newly appointed chief of the UK’s Border Security Command, will accompany Starmer on his trip to Italy, his office confirmed.

Meloni’s government has also struck a deal with Tunisia, offering aid in return for increased efforts to curb migrant departures from North Africa to Italy.

According to the Italian interior ministry, sea arrivals of migrants have significantly decreased since the start of the year. Between January 1 and September 13, 44,675 people arrived in Italy, compared to 125,806 during the same period in 2023.