TIRANA, Oct 4 – The United Kingdom aims use Albania as a holding place for migrants caught crossing the British Channel in small boats from France in a new asylum crackdown, according to several British media outlets. However, Albanian officials categorically deny the claim.
Albanian Foreign Minister Olta Xhacka took to Twitter, calling the reports “fake news” and “embarrassing.”
“Albania will proudly host 4,000 Afghan refugees based on its goodwill, but will never be a hub of anti-immigration policies of bigger and richer countries. We have instructed our Embassy in the UK to demand the retraction of this fake news.”
Xhacka linked to an article by The Sun tabloid, but more reputable newspapers like The Times had also written about the issue, citing a leaked UK Home Office proposal.
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel had earlier this year signed an agreement with the Albanian government with critics in Albania expressing concern at the time the agreement could be used to hold third-country nationals in Albania.
According to the leaked proposal in the British press, anyone who enters the UK through illegal means and applies for refugee status would have been flown to a processing center in Albania.
It is part of UK authorities efforts to make life harder for anyone who enters Britain illegally, while making it easier for refugees to reach the UK legally. Previous ideas Patel has suggested, according to the British press, include sending asylum seekers to Rwanda and setting up an immigrant processing center on the South Atlantic territory of Ascension Island.
