Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed on Thursday that the UK is in talks with several countries to establish “return hubs” for asylum seekers who have been refused the right to stay in Britain and exhausted all legal avenues.
Speaking to GB News during an official visit to Albania, Starmer said the new approach is to manage migrant returns more effectively.
“What now we want to do and are having discussions of… is return hubs, which is where someone has been through the system in the UK, they need to be returned… and we’ll do that, if we can, through return hubs,” Starmer said.
He described the concept as a “pretty important innovation” to help Britain control irregular migration more effectively.
Starmer declined to name the countries involved in discussions, saying more details would be shared “at the appropriate time.”
No repeat of Rwanda plan, says Starmer
While the new plan may draw comparisons to the previous Conservative government’s Rwanda deportation scheme, Starmer was clear earlier this year that he found that policy unworkable. Upon taking office in July, he scrapped the Rwanda plan.
Who will be sent to “return hubs”?
In a separate briefing, a spokesperson for Starmer clarified the category of migrants who may be targeted under the return hub model.
“This would apply to people who have exhausted all legal routes to remain in the UK, but are attempting to stall, using various legal tactics—whether it is losing their papers or other tactics to frustrate their removal,” the spokesman said.
He added that such individuals would be “removed to a safe third country whilst they await new documentation to ensure they don’t have a chance to make their removal harder.”
Albania not on board — Rama says “No”
During a joint press conference in Tirana, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Albania had no interest in becoming a return hub for the UK.
“While other countries may replicate such deals, I am not willing for Albania to do so for Britain,” Rama stated.
A recent migration agreement between Albania and Italy—which allows Rome to fast-track asylum applications for up to 36,000 migrants annually—is a model reportedly under legal scrutiny.
Rama added that deal needs to be fully tested first.
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