Migrant return hubs in the Balkans could be 'exploited' by Russia, MI6 warns
30 May 2025, 23:39
The UK's Secret Intelligence Service has warned Sir Keir Starmer's proposals to deport migrants to "return hubs" in the Balkans is "not sensible" from a security perspective.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
MI6 has said the Balkans is an unsafe choice for proposed plans to deport failed asylum seekers due to the region's proximity to Russia, a government source has told The Times.
The intelligence service warned that the plans would mean "sending people into a Russian sphere of interest."
The source said security officials "cited critical UK national infrastructure, facilities and systems that would be set up" that could be targeted by Russian agents.
“You’d be planting a prime bit of British interest, British real estate, right into an area where Russia has the ability to control and influence much more than other areas in the world," the source said.
Officials also warned that migrants sent to the region could be "targeted and exploited" by Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime.
Read More: Britain will 'without a doubt' spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2034, says Labour
Sir Keir Starmer confirmed earlier this month that the government was holding discussions with multiple countries about the possibility of creating migrant return hubs abroad.
He described the hubs as "a really important innovation."
A shortlist of nine countries touted as potential destinations for the hubs included Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Rejected asylum seekers would be sent to the return hubs after all avenues of appeal have been exhausted in the UK.
MI6 raised concerns over a previous plan to create offshore migrant hubs in the Balkans was drawn up by the previous Conservative government in 2022. The shortlist of countries included Albania and Moldova.
Security sources said the same concerns have been raised in response to the current government's proposals to create return hubs in the region.
Sources said: “The security view was that was not sensible or viable."
“It was based on the evidence that we’ve seen Russia being willing to use migration as a vehicle to exploit."
“Putting a massive processing site for immigration claims right next to a hostile state was not deemed sensible from a security perspective.”
A security source said: “The concerns are at different stages. Serbia is the worst, some of them are more of a threat than others."
"This is the former Yugoslavia — the Russian links are pretty clear.“
"There are hundreds of ways that Russia can influence these governments, whether it be digitally, physically, levels of corruption, live proxies by installing pro-Russian figures in governments or inadvertently influencing people to take a Russian frame of mind."
“Russia also uses organised gangs and there is a question about the capacity for these countries’ law and order to handle those threats.”
The source highlighted that President Vucic of Serbia has visited Moscow several times over the past year and is a close ally of Putin.
Security officials also pointed out rules that allow Russian passport holders to move freely in and out of Serbia.
Informal talks began this week between the UK and several countries over the possibility of securing a deal to create return hubs.
Kosovo's president said the country would be "open" to a potential deal. However, experts have warned of legal hurdles, as several European countries do not recognise Kosovo's independence, and it is not a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The government is understood to have set a target to announce return hub destinations before Britain hosts a meeting of western Balkan leaders in London in the autumn, where illegal migration will be one of the main topics of discussion.
The Foreign Office said it would not provide a “running commentary” on plans to open migrant return hubs and declined to comment further.
