Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama accused British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmud yesterday of "ethnic stereotypes" and "indecent demagogy" after she called out Albanian families and children for refusing to return to their homeland.
Rama, leader of the Socialist Party, asked why Mahmud, a Labour minister, was “using the bad rhetoric of the populist far right” after her officials singled out 700 Albanian families for deportation, the Guardian reported.
Mahmud has come under fire from around two dozen Labour MPs unhappy with the British government's plans to forcibly deport families who refuse financial incentives to return to their country.
"How can a Labour Home Secretary be so vocal in adopting the rhetoric of the populist far right - and single out 700 Albanian families, who are just a statistical drop in the ocean of Britain's post-Brexit challenges - at the very moment when the UK and Albania have built one of the most successful European partnerships in the fight against illegal migration?" Rama wrote on X.
"Albanians are a net contributor to the British economy, and the number of Albanians receiving benefits in the UK is very small compared to other communities. To single them out over and over again is not politics - it is a worrying and undignified form of demagogy," he added.
"The United Kingdom should seek ways to deepen cooperation with Albania in all security areas - from defense to border protection - rather than persistently turning Albanians into scapegoats and thereby exposing citizens of an allied state to additional risks, including those coming from extremist groups that feed on such narratives. Official policy should never be guided by ethnic stereotypes," Rama said.
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An Albanian government source said tensions are growing between the Albanian and British governments despite successful cooperation in the area of immigration policies.
The Guardian reports that Rama's criticism has also caused unease in the British government, as the Western Balkans are considered an important transit route for asylum seekers trying to reach the United Kingdom.
British border security officers were sent to Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina over the summer to establish contacts and gather intelligence on smuggling gangs, which has been officially confirmed, according to the British newspaper.
Announcing the new asylum policy on Monday, Mahmud said: “We must remove those whose asylum claims have been rejected, regardless of who they are. “Today, we do not remove family groups, even when we know that their home country is completely safe. For example, around 700 Albanian families are living in taxpayer-funded accommodation, even though their asylum claims have been rejected - despite the existing return agreement and Albania being a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights. That is why we will now start removing families. Wherever possible, we will encourage voluntary returns, but where forced returns are necessary, we will do so.”
The Home Office claims that there are around 700 Albanian families in the United Kingdom who do not have the right to reside in the country, but so far the ministry has not prioritised their return.
Albanian asylum applications remain low, and the number of Albanians arriving in small boats has fallen by more than 90 percent since 2022, according to The Guardian.
Andi Hoxhaj, a fellow at the British think tank RUSI, said the British government appears to be targeting and singling out Albanians in its rhetoric.
"We saw the same problem under the previous conservative administration, and both the Albanian community and the Albanian government are deeply frustrated by the return of such a narrative."
Rama has previously criticized the British Home Office.
In November 2022, he accused Suela Braverman, who was then the head of the department, of “inciting xenophobia and targeting, singling out one community” after she accused some Albanians of abusing modern slavery laws.
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