‘Moral obligation’: Cooper defends bid to emulate right-wing Italian PM on migration

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The interior minister has said ministers have a “moral obligation” to stop small boat crossings as she defended apparent attempts to learn from the Italian government’s efforts to curb illegal migration.

The prime minister will meet his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Monday, with talks set to focus on tackling illegal migration.

Italy has seen a 60 percent drop in illegal migration across the Mediterranean over the past year and recently signed a controversial agreement with neighboring Albania.

This came after the government finally announced its new leader of the Border Security Command: former NPCC chairman Martin Hewitt, who travelled with the Prime Minister.

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Keir Starmer said ahead of the visit: “No more gimmicks. This government will tackle the smuggling gangs that traffic the lives of men, women and children across borders.”

Last year, the Italian Prime Minister signed an agreement with Albania to send some asylum seekers to the Balkan country and process the asylum applications there.

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Asked if he would consider a similar deal, Starmer said last weekend: “Let’s see. It’s early days, I’m curious to see how that works, I think everyone is.”

On Monday morning, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was asked why a Labour government would be interested in the migration policy of a government like that of Giorgia Meloni, who was elected on a right-wing populist platform.

Cooper insisted Sky News that the government “has always cooperated with other democratically elected countries, including those led by political parties with which we have no ties.”

Referring specifically to Italy’s migration policy, Cooper argued that the Italian government has made “some significant progress” in “tackling organised immigration crime.”

She pointed to the 60 percent drop in boat journeys across the Mediterranean to Italy and praised the Italian government’s policy of working “upstream” with other countries “to prevent dangerous journeys in the first place”.

Earlier on Monday morning, Cooper further defended the government’s “sensible” attempts to learn from Italy on illegal migration.

She told BBC Breakfast: “We must work together with democratically elected governments, especially those that are our closest neighbors, and especially those with which we face common challenges.”

Asked further about possible human rights violations against migrants in Italy, Cooper added: “I don’t think it’s immoral to go after criminal gangs. On the contrary. I think it’s a moral imperative to make sure that we go after the criminal gangs that are putting lives at risk.”

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