Albanian migrants sent home on charter plane after crossing Channel
A number of Albanian small boat migrants have been fast tracked home as part of a new pilot scheme.
Migrant crossings: 60% of people are from Albania says expert
The Home Office confirmed that 11 Albanians were sent home last week. After arriving from northern France earlier this month the migrants were taken to a former RAF airbase at Manston, Kent which is being used to house Channel migrants.
It is understood they refused to claim asylum and were told by immigration officers that they were liable for immediate deportation.
They were then driven to Stansted Airport in Essex, where according to sources the 11 boarded a charter flight to Tirana.
It comes seven weeks after former Home Secretary Priti Patel secured a deal with her Albanian counterpart for a "rapid removal" scheme.
Although that project has not been fully ratified it is believed that increasing cooperation with Tirana played a role in the removal of the Albanians.
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'The Brexit vote, the rebel majority was above all about control of borders. We're now being laughed at by Albanian criminal gangs posting on TikTok to come to Britain and join the criminal industry.'@Nigel_Farage on the 35,000 migrants who have crossed the Channel this year. pic.twitter.com/4zP7NQ9A4I
— GB News (@GBNEWS) October 11, 2022
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At the start of the summer the number of Albanian migrants crossing the English Channel surged.
Albanians are now believed to comprise 60 percent of arrivals from northern France.
Overall 37,000 migrants have arrived on small boats since the start of the year with 10,000 being Albanian.
Prior to the summer around 90 percent of Albanians making the crossing were claiming asylum despite the fact that there hasn't been a conflict in Albania for over 20 years.
British taxpayers have spent £1.2m in the past year on translators for Albanian migrants, according to Ministry of Justice figures.
— TalkTV (@TalkTV) October 17, 2022
Chairman of Brexit Watch Ben Habib: "It's a complete travesty."@TVKev | @benhabib6 pic.twitter.com/VP022AHJ3b
VIDEO. Albanian migrants are recruited to work on #cannabis farms within three days of arriving in the UK. UK's failed #drugspolicy has impacts throughout society. A responsible govt would regulate this market to combat the gangsters and reduce harm. https://t.co/sS2Oe9vPXK
— Peter Reynolds (@TweeterReynolds) October 17, 2022
However, it is believed that the numbers applying for asylum have been falling deterred by the Government's plan to send claimants to Rwanda.
In August, when Ms Patel launched the scheme it was suggested that in some cases Albanians could be sent back "in hours".
Senior Albanian police officers came to Britain to to assess how they could work alongside immigration officials.
The deal also included greater sharing of forensics and biometrics while officials in Albania agreed to receive flights at short notice.
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Albanian people traffickers are hiding migrants in lorries & using the ferries from Spain to Britain sometimes it takes 36 hours & to be locked up in a lorry without sanitation, fresh air & substance is almost attempted murder! Gracias Spanish officials for capturing these gangs.
— Believe in Britain (@BritainBelieve) October 13, 2022
It comes at The Home Office has launched a campaign to deter illegal Albanian migrants.
A poster shows migrants in a dinghy with the words written in Albanian: "You could face up to four years in jail and deportation for coming to the UK illegally."
As Albanian speakers pass through parts of northern France and Belgium it pops up on their social media feeds in an attempt to deter them from making a crossing.
A Home Office spokesman asked Albanians to "urgently reconsider" crossing the Channel.
He said: "We urge anyone who is thinking about leaving a safe country and risking their lives at the hands of people smugglers to urgently reconsider.
"Despite the lies they have been sold, they will not be allowed to start a new life here."