‘Albanians are not just about the boats’: Balkan state’s PM Edi Rama slams Home Secretary Suella Braverman over her Channel migrant comments and says ‘rotten apples’ should not define the view of his countrymen
- Edi Rama says small boat crossings has led to ‘very low point’ in relations with UK
- Albanian PM hits out at comments about Channel migrants by Suella Braverman
Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama today hit out at comments about Channel migrants by Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
On a visit to Britain for talks with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Mr Rama said the issue of small boat crossings had led to a ‘very low point’ in UK-Albanian relations.
‘It has been a very, very disgraceful moment for British politics,’ said the Balkan country’s leader.
He added that ‘Albanians are not just about the boats’ and warned against allowing ‘some rotten apples’ to shape the view of his countrymen.
‘As Britain is not just about James Bond or Mr Bean, we are not just about Taken,’ Mr Rama said, in reference to the Liam Neeson film about Albanian people traffickers.
Figures showed that at least 13,000 Albanians entered Britain on small boats last year, which was just under a third of all arrivals.
Mrs Braverman sparked a diplomatic row with Tirana in October when she spoke in the House of Commons about ‘allowing all the Albanian criminals to come to this country’.
Edi Rama said the issue of small boat crossings had led to a ‘very low point’ in UK-Albanian relations
The Albanian PM hit out at comments about Channel migrants by Home Secretary Suella Braverman
Figures showed at least 13,000 Albanians entered Britain on small boats last year, which was just under a third of all arrivals (Pictured: A group of people thought to be migrants in Kent)
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Mr Rama blasted the characterisation of his countrymen by British politicians.
He said: ‘Unfortunately we have seen ourselves and our community being singled out in this country for purposes of politics.
‘It has been a very, very disgraceful moment for British politics.’
But Mr Rama said he was ‘very satisfied’ with Mr Sunak after they pair signed a bilateral deal in December to, in part, help tackle illegal immigration.
‘I’m very satisfied with your Prime Minister we have set up a clear path towards tackling together whatever has to be excluded from our relations and from our worlds of law and justice,’ he added.
‘But at the same time making sure that some rotten apples do not define the Albanian community here and our relations.’
Pressed on whether he was criticising the description of Channel migrants by British politicians, or the ‘stereotyping’ of Albanians, Mr Rama replied: ‘These are both right.
‘I mean exactly what has been spoke out by members of the cabinet, starting from the Home Secretary.
‘And then I mean exactly what has been developing as the singling out of our community, which is not something you do in our civilisation and which is something that does not represent Britain at all.
‘So this has been a very low point in our relations but there is a will to overcome it.
‘It’s true that by strengthening our cooperation there is some clear results that the PM here and the Government is pointing out.
‘But, on the other hand, we will always refuse to have this mix between some criminals and the Albanians as such because giving to the crime an ethnic seal is by itself a crime.’
At the beginning of this month, Mr Sunak said his deal with Albania was ‘already delivering’ with 500 illegal migrants returned to the country and ‘far fewer’ making journeys to the UK.
Mr Rama said the issue of Channel crossings was a ‘complex issue’ but stressed that Albanians living in Britain ‘are not just about the boats’.
‘We are here as an important community and we are here driving, constructing, cooking and even singing for you guys,’ he added.
‘It’s not just about the boats, it’s about a complex issue that has to do, of course, with the ambition and need of people in our part of the world to reach in countries where they imagine their future to be more in their hands and quicker.’
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