Keir Starmer said the UK is looking at a more ‘transactional’ approach which would see countries that refuse to take back failed asylum seekers given fewer visas
Countries that refuse to sign pacts with the UK to return failed asylum seekers could receive fewer visas, Keir Starmer suggested.
The Prime Minister said the government was looking into a more “transactional” approach to nations where there is no returns agreement. The UK currently has around two dozen such deals with countries across the globe for the return of people who do not have the right to stay in Britain.
Ministers are desperate to ramp up returns, but have so far been rebuffed in talks with EU nations. The Government is currently in negotiations with Iraq over a migration agreement which would include the return of Iraqi nationals.
Mr Starmer said on Tuesday: “We are looking at what we can do on returns agreements. We have done a number of bilateral returns agreements. So the question is, again, whether it is possible to go a bit beyond that. Including looking at this question of visas now and whether we can’t be a bit smarter with the use of our visas in relation to countries that don’t have a returns agreement with us.”
Pressed on whether that would mean fewer visas if no returns agreements, Mr Starmer said: “Yeah, it would be much more sort of transactional, if you like. Now, we’re looking into it, but certainly I think there are areas like that that we should look more closely at.”
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No deals are currently in place with Afghanistan, Eritrea, Sudan, Syria and Iran – the countries which account for a majority of small boat arrivals.
The Government is seeking a replacement for the Dublin Agreement, which provided a legal process for removing people who had applied for asylum in other European countries.
This was lost when the UK left the European Union. Up to now talks with the EU about a new returns agreement have proved fruitless.
The PM’s comments came as he met with Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, and discussed migration. A No10 spokesman said: “They looked ahead to the upcoming UK-France Summit in July and agreed that their teams should pursue high-ambition outcomes that deliver for the British and French people.
“Migration should be a key focus given the deteriorating situation in the Channel, they confirmed – adding that they should continue to work closely with other partners to find innovative ways to drive forward progress.”
Pressed on whether the acknowledgement of the “deteriorating situation” in the Channel was an admission of failure, Mr Starmer said: “Look, there’s a serious situation in relation to the Channel crossings. And as I’ve said on a number of occasions, nobody should be making that crossing.
“It is a serious challenge that requires serious responses to it. We are working much more closely already with our French counterparts, in particular, so the Home Secretary and the interior minister are working more closely than any interior minister and Home Secretary have before.”
He added: “But I also, at the session yesterday, made clear that we are looking at issues like a smarter use of our visas, so that, you know, looking at whether we should tie our visas to the work that the countries we’re dealing with are doing on preventative measures and on return agreements, and so we were very specific in what we were doing yesterday.
“But you know, do we need to do more? Yes, we do, and it’s by working together that I think we can achieve that. But it was a central part of my discussion, certainly with France, with Germany and with Italy, in the bilaterals that we had and the marginal discussions.”
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