Changes to global refugee rules could be needed to tackle illegal migration, British prime minister Rishi Sunak has said, as he warned of the threat of migrants to “overwhelm” European countries.
At a gathering of Italian conservatives and right-wingers in Rome, Mr Sunak offered a stark warning about illegal migration and the need for radical solutions to tackle the issue.
Mr Sunak said “enemies” want to use migration as a “weapon”, “deliberately driving people to our shores to try to destabilise our society”.
“If we do not tackle this problem, the numbers will only grow. It will overwhelm our countries and our capacity to help those who actually need our help the most.
“If that requires us to update our laws and lead an international conversation to amend the post-war frameworks around asylum, then we must do that.
“Because if we don’t fix this problem now, the boats will keep coming and more lives will be lost at sea.”
The rhetoric comes as hardliners on the Tory right push Mr Sunak to block interference from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the UN Refugee Convention amid efforts to stop Channel crossings.
He had warm praise for Italian prime minster Giorgia Meloni, at whose Brothers of Italy annual Atreju event he was speaking.
Ms Meloni is another prime minister who has sought to lead tough action on migrants arriving across the Mediterranean, and the two leaders have developed a close partnership in recent months.
While in Rome on the one-day trip, Mr Sunak also met Ms Meloni and Albania’s prime minister Edi Rama for talks on illegal migration.
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk was among those at the Atreju event, which has been attended by former Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon and Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban in the past.
Mr Sunak and Ms Meloni embraced as he left the stage to loud applause from the audience.
Touching on their shared admiration of long-serving Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher, he said: “I can only guess what first attracted Giorgia to the strong female leader who was prepared to challenge the consensus, take on stale thinking and revive her country both domestically and on the international stage.”
He said that Mrs Thatcher’s “radicalism and drive” had to be applied to the issue of illegal migration, as he warned: “It is a fundamental tenet of sovereignty that it is us who should decide who comes to our countries and not criminal gangs.
“If we cannot deliver on that, our voters will lose patience with us and the way in which their countries are run and rightly so.”
He stressed the need for schemes like the Rwanda plan, which dominated the agenda in London this week as Mr Sunak sought to win a crunch vote on the legislation.
Some 292 people crossed the English Channel in seven boats on Friday, according to British government figures published on Saturday.
It was confirmed a migrant died and another was left in a critical condition during an incident on Friday.
The trip to Rome comes as Mr Sunak has sought to win support from European allies to help crack down on illegal migration, with Albania and Italy seen as among the key partners.
