Keir Starmer 'in talks' over huge new deportation deals - full details

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The assisted dying Bill is back in the House of Commons on Friday, where MPs will once again debate the controversial issue.

The proposed legislation would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death.

The Prime Minister has insisted he will fight the next election as part of Labour’s “decade of national renewal” after facing questions about his future.

Sir Keir Starmer is currently facing a brewing Labour rebellion over his Government’s plans to cut welfare, and the rising threat of Reform UK’s popularity in the polls.

Questioned about his future plans during a visit to Albania, the Prime Minister initially did not address whether he would fight the next election, and only said he was focused on his task to “rebuild our country”.

It was only after he was later asked to clarify his position that Sir Keir said: “Of course I am going to stand at the next election.

“I’ve always said this is a decade of national renewal that I intend to lead.

“They were part of what we were arguing for at the last election and of course we’ve got a lot more work to do but we’re making huge progress.”

In a surprising development, Sir Keir Starmer has refused to say whether he will stand again at the next general election when he was asked about his political future during a visit to Albania.

He told GB News: "You're getting way ahead of me. I'm absolutely clear that my task is to rebuild our country, give us the security that we need, we're getting on with that. You've seen it over the last few days - trade deals with India, with the US, hopefully a trading relationship with the EU, very strong growth figures today reflecting the decisions that we've made for interest rate cuts, the actual living wage, waiting lists to come down."

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The Albanian PM said: "It was not any British Prime Minister that did anything to offend the Albanian people and to single out the Albanians.

"There were a few other individuals that did it, but they were taken out by the British people.

"So, it's enough. We don't need more than that."

He added: "Cursing the Albanians was not a good idea, because the curse went back and they are now out of the Parliament. So, it is enough. We don't need more than that."

Keir Starmer was asked to apologise for comments from some members of the previous Government about Albania.

Sir Keir: "Look, I think the fact that I'm the first British Prime Minister to be here in Albania, having a bilateral meeting, should be seen as a statement of intent as to the regard that I hold Albania and this Prime Minister, Edi, in the nature and strength of our relationship.

"I won't comment on previous Prime Ministers in Britain, but my approach is not megaphone diplomacy."

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reveals in a press conference: "Yes, we are in discussions with a number of countries about return hubs."

Sir Keir added: "At the appropriate time, I'll be able to give you further details in relation to it."

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says there will be not be a British return hub in Albania.

Mr Rama rejected calls to repeat the deal with Italy.

Mr Rama said: "I have said from the outset, it is is a model takes its time to be tested and if it works it can be replicated but not in Albania but other countries in the region.. if it works no reason other countries should not offer it."

He added: "We have been asked by several countries if we were open to it, and we said no, because we are loyal to the marriage with Italy and the rest is just love."

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hails work to slash the number of Albanians crossing the Channel in small boats.

He said: "The effectiveness of the arrangements we've put in place in the last two or three years with the Joint Migration Task Force, which has led to that dramatic reduction in numbers, a 94% decrease.

"And we discussed how that work could now be expanded to other countries in the region and how we could make it even more effective."

PM: "This is a moment for European countries to step up and stand firm against Russian aggression on the continent.

"Later today, I will be visiting Albanian and UK troops who are working together to defend our freedoms and citizens, because the back lines of Ukraine are the front lines of Western values".

Sir Keir says London and Tirana will work together on defence, security and fighting illegal migration.

"We will work together on the manufacture and sale of military vehicles.

"It's another important step forward for our two countries, strengthening our national security, driving innovation and boosting economic growth for both of our nations."

PM: "Secure borders are central to our plan for change.

"People want and deserve an immigration system that is fair, that works for our national interest and that restores common sense and control to our borders."

The Prime Minister says he is privileged to be the first UK leader to hold a bilateral meeting in Tirana.

He hails the start of a "new chapter" in relations between the two countries.

Sir Keir Starmer joins Edi Rama for a press conference in Tirana.

Sending failed asylum seekers to return hubs could help the Government solve its problem of how the UK will be able to deport people from countries such as Afghanistan and Iran.

One UK government official said: “We are reducing opportunities for them to find further reasons to stay in the UK — such as quickly marrying someone or starting a family, which makes their removal harder.”

After the news filtered through that failed asylum seekers could be sent to return hubs, we're expecting to hear from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the next 10 to 15 minutes.

Sir Keir said establishing return hubs would not be a "silver bullet" for halting the crossings.

But combined with other measures to tackle smuggling gangs and return those with no right to be in the UK, it would "allow us to bear down on this vile trade and make sure that we stop those people crossing the Channel".

If established, the return hubs will target failed asylum seekers who are seeking to frustrate their deportation or have lost their paperwork.

By removing them to another country, the Government hopes to reduce their ability to find other reasons to prevent deportation, such as starting a family.

It is also expected to act as a deterrent to further crossings, but differs from the previous government's Rwanda scheme as it would only apply to failed asylum seekers who have exhausted their avenues for appeal.

A refugee charity has branded Keir Starmer's return hubs plan "deceptive".

Enver Solomon, Chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “Returning people who don’t have a right to be in the UK is an important part of a functioning asylum system but these proposed return hubs are deceptive.

"They will not return people from the countries they have fled, but send them to countries like Albania, to be detained in prison like conditions. They are inhumane, unworkable and a waste of public funds at a time of national hardship.

"The government’s approach to returns must be based on evidence if it’s going to work and it is clear that the most effective returns systems are not punitive, but orderly and humane.

"Last year for every 1 person returned forcefully, 3 were returned with dignity through an orderly system that is far more cost effective.

"Threatening to detain people in countries they've never set foot in causes fear and panic leading to low rates of compliance, compared to orderly and humane returns systems that achieve far higher levels of compliance and are far less costly for the taxpayer.

"We need a competent asylum system that doesn’t waste taxpayers’ money, and treats every human being with dignity."

Countries who could host such hubs include Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia.

Any deal would require Britain to pay for each failed asylum seeker relocated.

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has endorsed the idea of return hubs and set out how they could meet human rights standards.

UK officials are expected to carry negotiations throughout the summer.

Returns Hubs are different to the Rwanda scheme which involved the outsourcing of our asylum system to another country.

Migrants will be sent to a return hub once they have exhausted all of their asylum appeals.

The scheme would be similar to the one where Italy deports migrants to Albania for processing.

The European Union announced in March that it approved of member states pursuing return hubs and Starmer is said to be keen to collaborate with other European countries.

The Netherlands is in negotiations with the Ugandan government about opening a return hub.

Speaking at the Albanian port of Durres, Sir Keir said: “What now we want to do and are having discussions of, talks of, is return hubs which is where someone has been through the system in the UK, they need to be returned and we have to make sure they’re returned effectively and we’ll do that, if we can, through return hubs.

“So that’s what the talks are about. I would say in this area no single measure is going to be the measure that is, if you like, a silver bullet.

“By putting it all together - arrests, seizures, agreements with other countries, returning people who shouldn’t be here, and return hubs, if we can through these talks to add to our armoury, will allow us to bear down on this vile trade and to make sure that we stop those people crossing the Channel.”

The pomp and ceremony is well and truly underway in Tirana.

Daily Express Political Editor Martyn Brown is in Albania with the Prime Minister.

He's sent through this picture of the PM and his Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama.

Downing Street said the number of Albanians making the crossing had fallen by 95% in the past three years, while the number returned to Albania had doubled between 2022 and 2024 following increased cooperation between the two countries.

After a spike in numbers in 2022, the UK and Albania struck a deal to work together to prevent people from making the journey, with both the current Labour Government and the previous Conservative administration providing money and expertise for Tirana.

Last year, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggested Sir Keir had also been “very interested” in a deal that has seen Italy send migrants to Albania for processing.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has met with Albanian border personnel this morning.

The UK will pay for more drone patrols on key routes through neighbouring Montenegro and North Macedonia.

The UK is already funding new drones to track migrants being trafficked through the mountainous border region with Kosovo, where vehicle access is difficult.

Some are equipped with automatic registration plate recognition cameras - enabling them to spot any British vehicles thought to be linked to Albanian smuggling gangs.

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said Sir Keir’s “entire visit is pure theatre” and pointed out that the last Conservative government worked with Albania to cut illegal migration.

The senior Tory added: “The returns deal with Albania was decisive action taken by the previous Conservative government, resulting in a cut to small boat arrivals from Albania by over 90%.

“So why is Starmer now flying out for a handshake in Tirana to claim credit? If the scheme is already working, what exactly is this trip for?"

Labour was elected on a manifesto promise to “smash the gangs” smuggling people into the UK in small boats, but some 12,699 people have made the journey so far this year, putting 2025 on course to be a record year for crossings.

But Downing Street said the number of Albanians making the crossing had fallen by 95% in the past three years, while the number returned to Albania had doubled between 2022 and 2024 following increased co-operation between the two countries.

Sir Keir Starmer is set to increase co-operation with Albania on tackling illegal immigration and organised crime as he visits the country on Thursday.

In the first official visit to Tirana by a British prime minister, Sir Keir and his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama are expected to agree measures to clamp down on people smuggling.

The visit comes in the same week that the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats passed 12,000 for the year.

The Prime Minister has insisted he is "determined that we will retake control" of the UK's borders, during a visit to Albania.

Speaking to broadcasters in the Balkan country, Sir Keir Starmer said: "It is totally unacceptable that anybody is getting on a small boat and crossing the Channel to the United Kingdom.

"The last government lost control of the borders.

"I am determined that we will retake control of the borders.

"That means that we have got to have a concerted effort to smash the gangs that are running this vile trade."

He added: "What we have done in our joint work with Albania is shown that by working with other countries, this morning we saw law enforcement from Albania alongside law enforcement from the UK, driven down those numbers.

"I want to see more of that. We are absolutely determined that we are going to clear up the mess that we have been left and make sure that we get the control we need of our borders."