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No more ‘shouting over the sea,’ says Yvette Cooper as UK looks at ‘fast track’ processing of asylum-seekers in Albania
16 September 2024, 09:56
Yvette Cooper has dismissed the Conservatives' approach to working with European countries on stopping migrant crossings as "shouting over the sea" and said she would work "in partnership" with foreign governments to tackle the issue.
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The Home Secretary also suggested to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that the UK would consider a similar scheme to Italy's migrant processing plan in Albania.
But she insisted that the nascent scheme was "very different" to the Conservatives' Rwanda plan, which Keir Starmer cancelled on arriving in Downing Street in July.
The issue of bringing down small boat crossings has gained even more relevance in recent days after the deaths of eight migrants in the Channel overnight over the weekend.
Asked why authorities couldn't turn the dinghies around and tow them back to France, Ms Cooper said that it was important to "make sure that we've got proper agreements and partnerships" with other European countries.
Watch Again: Nick Ferrari speaks to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper | 16/09/24
She said: "I think there's been a bit of a history of really, under the previous government, a bit of shouting across the sea rather than actually building those partnerships in place."
"And we want to make sure that we've got those both to go after the gangs and to prevent these crossings in the first place, and also, particularly when the boats are in shallow waters as well, prevent them actually ending up with lives being lost as they get further".
Starmer is currently in Italy on a visit to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the Prime Minister said he was "interested' in Italy's deal with Albania to send migrants there after sea rescues.
Under the terms of the deal, Italy sends migrants rescued crossing over sea from places such as North Africa to Albania for their asylum claims to be processed.
Deaths of eight migrants shows Tory boat policy failed miserably, says Sir Ed Davey
Ms Cooper said that Italy's Rwanda scheme is not functioning yet, and "we don't know how it is going to play out", but that the British government "would look at what works".
She explained that the focus of the Albania plan was focused on "trying to set up a fast track return system".
"That's what they're trying to do, a fast track decision making for cases that people arrive in Italy who have come from predominantly safe countries.
"We think there are alternative ways to do fast track decisions and returns for people who are arriving from predominantly safe countries, but we've always said, the Prime Minister's always said, we'll always look at whatever works."
She said they were also looking at Italy' prevention work with North African countries to prevent boats crossing in the first place, as well as efforts to tackle gangs and returning migrants quickly if their asylum claims were not accepted.
Migrant policy campaigner insists a UK-Albania migrant deal "is not going to happen"
Ms Cooper said that the biggest changes were by tackling the criminal gangs that operate the crossings and working with other European countries to break up the smuggling rings.
She said this hadn't been taking place "for far too long."
It comes after the government hired Martin Hewitt, the former chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, as the Border Security Commander.
Ms Cooper said the government was "upgrading the enforcement work, recruiting additional police and additional officers, security officers to go after the gangm and working in much closer partnership with new technology in place as well."
