Although the prime minister’s spokesman refused to rule out sending asylum seekers to Paraguay, Belize and Peru for processing, all three governments questioned whether such an arrangement would be within international law. The denials followed a report in the Daily Express which claimed Braverman was in advanced talks with Paraguay while Peru and Belize were “potentially in line” for deals. The Paraguayan embassy in London said: “There have never been any talks and ongoing talks on this issue,” adding: “There is no agreement or agreement from the Paraguayan government with the UK to receive migrants.” Belize’s Foreign Minister Eamon Courtenay has denied reports that his country is working with the UK to accept migrants, saying such plans would be “inhumane”. “Belize is not in negotiations with the United Kingdom or any other country to accept immigrants. We will not agree to accept deported immigrants. This is inhumane and against international law,” he tweeted. A Peruvian embassy spokesman said the allegation was “baseless”. “Peru renews its commitment to international treaties on human rights and respect for migrants,” the spokesman added. The Express had reported that the Home Office was in talks with several nations about deportation deals. The paper claimed that Braverman was pushing for talks on alternatives to Rwanda’s deadlocked plan with Paraguay, Peru, Belize and an African country. Asked Thursday about the report, the prime minister’s spokesman did not deny that the government was seeking Rwanda-style deals with Belize, Peru and Paraguay. “We intend to negotiate similar agreements with other countries, similar to Rwanda’s cooperation, but it is not helpful for us to comment on speculation surrounding possible discussions,” he added. A Home Office spokesman said: “Our world-leading migration and economic development partnership with Rwanda will help break the business model of criminal people-smuggling gangs and save lives. “We have always been clear that we are committed to working with a range of international partners to address the global migration crisis.” It is the second time in two days that Home Office policies have been criticized by a foreign government. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. On Wednesday, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama accused the government of “discriminating” against Albanians in a tense diplomatic row. He tweeted: “Targeting Albanians (as some shamefully did when campaigning for Brexit) as the cause of Britain’s crime and border problems creates easy rhetoric but ignores hard facts. “Albanians in the UK work hard and pay taxes. The UK should fight criminal gangs of all nationalities and stop discriminating against Albanians to justify policy failures.” His intervention came as a shock to the government and a blow to ministers’ efforts to strike a fast-track return deal with Tirana, under which Albanian migrants would be deported within days of arriving in the UK on small boats. After Rama’s intervention, Graham Stuart, the climate minister, expressed his gratitude to Albania. “I am grateful for the work we are doing with the Albanians and they have sent senior police officers to speed up the process and we have a postal system to return Albanians if they prove not to be legitimate asylum seekers. ” he said.
