Eddie Rama wrote that the UK was falsely targeting Albanians “as the cause of Britain’s crime and border problems”. In a series of tweets, he called on the UK to “fight criminal gangs of all nationalities and stop discrimination [against] Albanians”. His intervention could cause problems for the UK government, which is trying to improve relations with Albania as it seeks to return thousands of people who recently arrived in small boats. Robert Jenrik, the immigration minister, is due to visit Tirana within weeks to discuss the return of some asylum seekers. It follows a series of comments by UK ministers and officials who have claimed that Albanians are behind a recent flurry of small boat arrivals across the English Channel and that many of them are involved in or victims of organized crime. Rama, a centre-left member of the Socialist group and prime minister since 2013, wrote: “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 the hard Facts. Repeating the same things and expecting different results is crazy (ask Einstein!). “70% of the 140,000 Albanians who have moved to the UK were living in Italy and Greece. 1,200 of them are entrepreneurs. Albanians in the UK work hard and pay taxes. The UK should fight criminal gangs of all nationalities and stop discrimination [against] Albanians to justify the failures of the policy”. Braverman angered many Albanians by making claims about their citizens in parliament on Monday. “If Labor were in charge they would allow all Albanian criminals to come into this country, allow all small boats to come into the UK, open our borders and completely undermine the confidence of the British people in control . our sovereignty,” he told MPs. The home secretary, who has faced renewed criticism after claiming England’s south coast was being invaded by asylum seekers, also criticized Albanian asylum seekers at the Conservative party conference last month. “Many of them claim that they are being trafficked as modern day slaves … the truth is that many of them are not modern day slaves and their claims that they are being trafficked are lies,” he said. Concerns about people coming to the UK from Albania increased last week after a warning was issued by Dan O’Mahoney, the Home Office’s undercover Channel threat commander. O’Mahoney claimed there had been an “exponential” increase in Albanians arriving in small boats because Albanian criminal gangs had a “foothold” in northern France and were facilitating crossings. He said the number of Albanians who crossed into the UK this year was “between 1 and 2% of the total male population of Albania” – a figure disputed by Albanian authorities. Albanians living in the UK say they have been demonized by the Home Secretary. Lea Ypi, a leading Albanian academic and professor of political theory at the London School of Economics, said members of the diaspora had been “extremely concerned” by comments from ministers, including Braverman. “There has been scapegoating of migrants by ministers and Albanians risk being targeted,” Ypi said. “The very term ‘invasion’ is used by the Home Secretary. It is inflammatory language and it is used against a particular community. When you put something like that into the public sphere, it monopolizes attention and makes people unable to discuss an entire nation that doesn’t see them or their people as a source of danger. “It singles out a minority group, which is very well integrated into the UK, and has made us xenophobic. Citizens are being targeted. It’s a reason to blame immigrants for problems that are the government’s problems.” Around 140,000 people of Albanian origin have settled in the UK. Around 90,000 came to the UK between 2008 and 2013 and tens of thousands came to the UK between 1991 and 2008 after becoming EU citizens, often in Italy or Greece. 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. There are around 1,300 Albanian businesses across the UK, most of which are based in London, and 58 academies running Albanian language courses for Albanian children living in the UK. Rama said the UK’s rhetoric could end up “punishing the innocent” and that when Germany had problems with irregular arrivals from across the border, it “tightened its own systems”. He wrote: “We have a duty to fight crime at home and we are doing it resolutely, working closely with others too. Ready to work more closely with the UK, but facts are vital. So is mutual respect.” The prime minister’s intervention comes a day after a British general appointed to crack down on Albanian migrants visited Tirana, the Guardian understands. Lt. Gen. Stuart Skeates met with Albanian officials in his role as special coordinator on illegal Albanian migration to discuss speeding up the movement. The main frustration in Tirana is the failure of the British government to implement an agreement to quickly deport Albanians who arrive illegally in the UK through a safe third country. The lack of progress on the deal contrasts with similar deals Albania has signed with France and Germany. Braverman told MPs that it was particularly young single men from Albania who “were either part of organized criminal gangs and procured their travel through these nefarious means, or come here and engage in criminal activities, particularly in relation to drugs – supply and but”.
