Priti Patel meets with Albanian officials weeks after refugee re-routing rumours
Home secretary Priti Patel met with Albanian officials yesterday, following reports that the UK and Albania were in talks over re-routing refugees earlier this month.
Deputy prime minister Dominic Raab confirmed just weeks ago that the government is looking at ways to process asylum seekers abroad, in a bid to halt treacherous Channel crossings in dinghies.
However, Albania vigorously denied that it is willing to process people attempting to enter the UK by sea.
Albanian prime minister Edi Rama said that his government would “never receive refugees for richer countries”, the Times reported.
The talks follow the Channel tragedy last week, the worst of its kind, which resulted in 27 people drowning off the British coast.
The Home Office declined to comment on whether the meeting discussed processing refugees overseas.