Britain will pay for drone patrols in the Western Balkans in Keir Starmer's desperate bid to get a grip on stopping migrants reaching the English Channel

Daily Mail​

14-05-2025

New drone patrols in the Western Balkans will be paid for by the UK in a desperate bid to slash the number of illegal migrants making it to the English Channel.
Sir Keir Starmer travelled to Albania last night before talks today on building co-operation aimed at closing down one of the main routes for migrants trying to enter Europe illegally.
He is also expected to discuss Albania's part in a radical scheme designed to 'offshore' the processing of thousands of migrants landing in Italy – an initiative some ministers believe could one day be copied by the UK.
The Prime Minister is under pressure to step up action to tackle the Channel migrant crisis following a surge in arrivals since Labour came to power.
Arrivals this year have topped 12,000 – a 40 per cent rise from 2024. More than 600 crossed on Monday as the PM was giving his speech vowing a crackdown on immigration.
The leap in numbers threatens to make a mockery of Labour's plan to 'smash the gangs', with ministers now resorting to blaming the fine weather for the increase in illegal crossings.
But Sir Keir will today insist that progress is being made in tackling the organised crime gangs trafficking migrants to the UK.
He will say that working alongside Albania – much of which was started by the last Conservative government – is 'delivering security' in both countries.
'Our joint work to deter, detect and return illegal migrants is further proof that intervening upstream to protect British shores and secure our borders is the right approach,' he will say.
'Every step we take to tackle illegal migration overseas, cripple the criminal networks that facilitate it and stem the finance streams that fund it is delivering safer streets in the UK and reducing the strain on taxpayer-funded services.'
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.
The PM will announce plans today to expand the scheme, including more intelligence sharing and new drone patrols on key routes through neighbouring Montenegro and North Macedonia.
The Albanian authorities will also be supplied with new forgery detection machines to make it easier to recognise fake passports.
The Western Balkans is a key passage for migrants trying to enter the EU.
An estimated 100,000 people attempted the route last year, thousands of whom are thought to have crossed the Channel in a bid to get to the UK illegally.
More than 12,000 migrants from Albania made their way across the Channel in small boats in 2022 – up from just 50 two years previously. Numbers are down by 95 per cent since Rishi Sunak signed a returns deal with Albania in 2023.
Sir Keir will today announce new 'support' designed to help migrants deported from Albania find local jobs instead of trying to cross the Channel again.
The Prime Minister will hold talks later with Albania's socialist leader Edi Rama, who won a record fourth term in office in elections last weekend on a platform of taking the former communist state into the EU.
He is expected to discuss Albania's 'offshoring' deal with Italy, but sources played down the prospect of a breakthrough.
Italy had hoped to process 36,000 Mediterranean migrants a year at camps built in Albania. But the deal signed last year has been mired in legal problems in the Albanian courts.
Sir Keir expressed interest in the scheme after discussing it with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni on a visit to Rome last year.
Labour scrapped the last government's flagship Rwanda scheme within days of coming to office, despite warnings that efforts to tackle the Channel crisis would fail without a credible deterrent.
Ministers have not ruled out schemes to 'offshore' the processing of Channel migrants abroad. But a source said the difficulties with the Albania-Italy deal underlined the fact it would not be 'straightforward'.
Meanwhile, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp last night branded the Prime Minister's trip to Albania 'pure theatre' – and accused him of 'flying out for a handshake in Tirana to claim credit' for previous Tory initiatives.
He added: 'If Starmer is so serious about cracking down on illegal migration, he should never have scrapped the Rwanda deterrent before it even started. We have seen from Australia that offshore deterrents work.
'Yet under Labour, 2025 is already the worst year on record for Channel crossings, with over 12,000 crossings and rising.'