UK’s Starmer seeking third countries to set up asylum seeker ‘return hubs’

The United Kingdom is talking to third countries about setting up “return hubs” to host asylum seekers refused the right to stay in the country as part of a renewed crackdown on immigration, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. The UK leader is under increasing pressure to cut the number of migrants arriving on UK shores amid the rising popularity of the far-right Reform UK Party. He said on Thursday that he was talking to “a number of countries” about hosting the “return hubs”, which would receive failed asylum seekers who have exhausted all avenues of appeal for processing prior to deportation. AdvertisementThat scheme, which could see Italian-run facilities in Albania holding up to 36,000 asylum seekers annually while their applications are fast-tracked, is currently bogged down in the courts. Starmer claimed his new Labour government had been left a “mess” by the previous Conservative leadership, which he said had failed to process asylum claims.