“Quite disappointing to hear the UK Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, cite “around 700 Albanian families” living in taxpayer-funded accommodation after failed asylum claims as justification for resuming family returns,” PM Rama said in a statement on social media platform X.

“How can a Labour Home Secretary so poorly echo the rhetoric of the populist far-right – and single out 700 Albanian families, a statistical drop in the ocean of post-Brexit Britain’s challenges – precisely at a moment when the UK and Albania have built one of Europe’s most successful partnerships on illegal migration?” the government head stated.

“Let me remind the Home Secretary that, thanks to intensive joint work since late 2022, irregular arrivals from Albania to the UK have almost disappeared. Migration control has worked. Meanwhile, mobility and visa restrictions on the UK side remain a Braverman-era relic of failure, harming both the fundamental freedom of movement of people and the British economy itself,” Rama added.

“Let us also be clear: Albanians are net contributors to the British economy, and the number of Albanians receiving UK benefits is very low relative to other communities. To single them out again and again is not policy – it is a troubling and indecent exercise in demagoguery,” he noted.

PM Rama emphasized that “Albania is, and intends to remain, one of the UK’s most active allies in broader migration control across the Balkans. The UK should be seeking ways to deepen cooperation with Albania on all security issues – from defence to border protection – rather than repeatedly scapegoating Albanians and thereby exposing citizens of an allied nation to increased risks, including from extremist groups that thrive on such narratives.”

“Official policy should never be driven by ethnic stereotyping. That is the very least humanity expects from the great Great Britain,” PM Rama concluded his statement.

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