Starmer ends European summit with £84m aid package to stop migration ‘at source’

The Prime Minister said he was open to offshore processing agreements, and attacked the Tories for a ‘dereliction of duty’ on small boats.

Sir Keir Starmer announced an £84 million foreign aid package to help tackle irregular migration ‘at source’. (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

Sir Keir Starmer accused the previous government of a “dereliction of duty” on small boats as he pledged £84 million in foreign aid to help stop irregular migration.

Concluding Thursday’s European Political Community (EPC) summit with a press conference, the Prime Minister also expressed openness to an offshore processing arrangement similar to one agreed between Italy and Albania, saying he was “a pragmatist” who would “look at what works”.

Migration has been a key theme of the conference, hosted by the UK at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, with Sir Keir describing the issue of migrants crossing the Mediterranean and the Channel as “a crisis”.

In his opening remarks, he called for greater co-operation to “smash the gangs” smuggling people across borders.

But Sir Keir also said the “root causes” driving people from their homes – such as conflict, climate change and extreme poverty – needed to be addressed.

We are facing up to the huge problems beyond our shores, because these problems echo at home

Sir Keir Starmer

Addressing journalists at the end of the summit, he announced an £84 million package of aid to Africa and the Middle East to tackle migration “at source”.

He said: “This is a vital part of gripping the migration crisis and it shows how we’re going to do business on the world stage.

“We are facing up to the huge problems beyond our shores, because these problems echo at home. The effects play out on our streets and in a dangerous world we serve no one and solve nothing by turning inward.”

The money, to be rolled out over the next three years, includes funding for projects to improve education and employment opportunities, as well as efforts to build resilience to shocks such as conflict and climate change, in the hope that this will persuade people not to leave their homes and travel to Europe.

David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said; “If we are to tackle the rising crisis of migration, we must address why people flee their homes and risk dangerous journeys to the UK and other European countries.”

At Thursday’s press conference, Sir Keir acknowledged that there was “no easy silver bullet” to deal with small boats, adding: “If there was, it would have been fired a long time ago.”

But he took aim at his Conservative predecessors for their handling of irregular migration, saying his “frustration” with the prisons crisis “is across this as well”.

Saying Labour had been “left in a really difficult position yet again” by the previous government, he said: “It’s been a dereliction of duty because border control is about our national security.

“And rather than address it with a serious answer, they addressed it with a gimmick. The gimmick didn’t work, and we’re left with a very serious situation to try and turn around.”

He also suggested the UK would be open to an offshore processing deal, having discussed Albania’s arrangement with Italy during a meeting with his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama.

He said there had been “interest in how that might work”, adding: “I’m a practical person, I’m a pragmatist and I’ve always said we’ll look at what works.

“And where cases can be processed closer to origin, then that is something which of course ought to be looked at.”

Earlier in the day, Sir Keir said the summit was an opportunity to “set a new path on illegal migration” with increased co-operation, while also saying the UK would “approach this issue with humanity and with a profound respect for international law”.

He said: “That’s why we scrapped the unworkable Rwanda scheme on day one. And it’s why we will never withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.”