UK PM Starmer pledges migration cooperation ahead of Italy talks

16/9/2024 11:48

        British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised "a new era" in cross-border cooperation to tackle people smuggling gangs ahead of talks on Monday with
        Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, part of his push to reset Britain's relations with Europe.
        
        Starmer has put renewing ties with European leaders at the top of his diplomatic agenda since winning an election in July, and Monday's visit to Rome follows trips to Berlin, Paris and Dublin in recent weeks.
        
        Heading to Rome to meet Meloni, who had close ties with Starmer's predecessor Rishi Sunak, Starmer will stress his commitment to tackling illegal migration and the need to work with European partners to smash the business model of the illegal networks that fuel it.
        
        Starmer has scrapped the previous government's contentious plan to deport asylum seekers who arrive in small boats to Rwanda, but has not ruled out arrangements that would see asylum claims processed offshore, similar to an agreement Italy has struck with Albania.