London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Albania angrily denies it would process asylum seekers for UK

Albania angrily denies it would process asylum seekers for UK

PM Edi Rama says he will ‘never receive refugees for richer countries’ after Raab said UK was exploring plans

Albania has strenuously denied it is willing to process people crossing the Channel to Britain, after the UK deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab, confirmed that the government is exploring ways of processing asylum seekers abroad.

Edi Rama, the prime minister, said he would “never receive refugees for richer countries”, after a report in the Times suggested Albania would be willing to host an offshore processing centre for people arriving in the UK from France in small boats.

Priti Patel, the home secretary, opened talks on the proposal when she signed an agreement in July for Albania to take back criminals deported from the UK.

Ministers see Australian-style offshore processing centres – to which migrants would be flown within seven days of arriving in the UK – as a key potential deterrent to stem the record surge in Channel crossings. The Home Office is due to confirm that more than 1,000 reached the UK on Tuesday.

However, Rama told Albania’s Top Channel: “Albania will never be a country where very rich countries will set up camps for their refugees. Never.”

Earlier, Albania’s foreign minister, Olta Xhaçka, and its ambassador to the UK, Qirjako Qirko, dismissed the report as a “fake news” .

Raab appeared to give credence to the report by telling Times Radio: “We are looking at international partnerships that can take the processing out of the UK in order to try and reduce the pull factor which means people think they can successfully take advantage of these routes.”


On Sky News later, when Raab was asked if people seeking asylum in the UK would be flown to Albania, he said: “Well that’s one country, but we are willing to look with partners at whether it’s possible to do this international processing.”

But Tirana reacted angrily to the report. Xhaçka tweeted an image of the front page of the Times and said: “Same old fake news this time in the front page of a respected paper as The Times! And btw I am not a ‘he’ but a ‘she’ who has always admired the quality of British media. Sad.”

Qirko said he was “furious” about the report because on Wednesday he had told the Times “at least 10 times that Albania will never, ever agree to this kind of approach regarding immigrants coming from France”.

Speaking to the Guardian, he said: “It is totally fake. They don’t mention a single word regarding the reality and they write what they prefer.

“I’m a lawyer. Albania has no jurisdiction to decide if an immigrant is legal or illegal. The international convention has arranged everything in detail regarding the process of assessing asylum seekers. The British courts will decide, not the Albanian courts.”

In letter of complaint to the Times, Qirko said: “There are no bilateral talks between Albanian and British government officials regarding processing centres for illegal immigrants crossing the English Channel.”

It added: “The Albanian government will never agree to [the] opening of such processing centres for illegal immigrants as this is an act violates the international law.”

Processing asylum seekers abroad was started by Australia, first in Papua New Guinea and now on the Pacific island of Nauru.

Raab, who is also the justice secretary, defended the UK exploring similar ideas.

He told Sky: “I think it’s right, there’s practice around the world in relation to this, to look at these the possibilities of international partnerships for international processing of some of these claims.”

He said the government was trying to stop people crossing the Channel in boats.

Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, condemned the offshore processing plan as “desperate measure” that was cruel and likely to be ineffective.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×