"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?"
"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. 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."
Albania's prime minister, Edi Rama, accused the UK home secretary of echoing populist far-right rhetoric after officials identified 700 Albanian families for deportation. Rama cited the small statistical scale of those families compared with wider post-Brexit challenges and invoked the strong UK‑Albania partnership on migration cooperation. He emphasised that Albanians are net contributors to the British economy and receive relatively few UK benefits, calling repeated targeting an indecent exercise in demagoguery and ethnic stereotyping. Rama urged deeper security and border cooperation rather than scapegoating, warning that such rhetoric increases risks for allied citizens and fuels extremist narratives. Mahmood faces criticism from more than two dozen Labour MPs over plans to forcibly remove families who refuse cash incentives to return.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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