BERLIN: Britain should look to Germany to learn how to cope with a wave of immigrants, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Thursday, chastising London for its depiction of Albanians arriving in the country via the English Channel.
“To single out a community and to talk about gangsters and about criminals, this doesn’t sound … very British, sounds more like screams from a madhouse,” Rama said while praising Berlin’s response to migration policy.
Britain has been consumed by a row over migration since Home Secretary Suella Braverman blamed a “surge in the number of Albanian arrivals” on young, single men who she said were part of organized criminal gangs.
Rama, who was attending a Berlin summit of Western Balkan nations hosted by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, singled out Germany’s handling of the million-odd migrants it received in 2015 as a model for Britain to follow.
“I never heard a German minister talking about Albanians as criminals,” he said, standing on a podium alongside his host, and praised the “dignity” of Germany’s approach. Fewer than 1 percent of Britain’s Albanians were in jail, he added.
A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak moved earlier to de-escalate the row, highlighting Albania’s cooperation in tackling people smugglers.
“We have a strong relationship with our Albanian partners. We are grateful for the cooperation of the Albanian government and we remain fully committed to working together with them,” the spokesperson said.
Braverman visited immigration facilities on England’s southeastern coast as she grappled with an overcrowding crisis at a migrant facility and outcry over her claim that the UK faced an “invasion” of asylum-seekers. Sunak has described the migrant crisis as a “serious and escalating problem.”
He acknowledged that “not enough” asylum claims are being processed, but maintained his Conservative government was getting a grip on the situation.
Braverman visited a migrant center in the port town of Dover, the scene of a gasoline bomb attack on Sunday, but did not answer reporters’ questions.
Police say the firebombing, which slightly injured two staff members, was likely driven by “hate-filled grievance.”
The suspect, who killed himself after the attack, reportedly supported far-right causes on social media.
Braverman is under heavy pressure to address potentially unlawful conditions at Manston, a converted airfield that has held some 3,500 people who made the hazardous journey across the English Channel on small boats to UK shores.
The building, meant to be a temporary processing center for new arrivals, became a focal point this week after it emerged that some migrants have been detained there for weeks in cramped, inhumane conditions.
Independent inspectors have reported migrant children sleeping on floors, with no access to phones or fresh air.
Critics, including the opposition Labour Party, have blamed Braverman’s hardline stance against unauthorized immigration for aggravating problems within the asylum system.
They have accused her of blocking hotel bookings to ease overcrowding at the Manston center — claims that she denies.
Braverman was expected to meet with the coast guard and be in Manston.