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Shabana Mahmood has been accused of “ethnic stereotyping” and “indecent demagoguery” by Albania’s prime minister after the home secretary singled out Albanian families and children for refusing to return to their homeland.
Edi Rama, the Socialist party leader, has questioned why a Labour politician can “so poorly echo the rhetoric of the populist far-right” after Mahmood’s officials singled out 700 Albanian families for deportation.
Mahmood faces anger from more than two dozen Labour MPs over government plans that will result in families being forcibly removed from the UK if they refuse cash incentives to return to their own country.
In a post on X, Rama wrote: “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.”
An Albanian government source said there were growing tensions between the Albanian and UK governments despite successful collaboration over immigration policies.
Rama’s attack has caused discomfort in Whitehall, because the western Balkans are seen as a major transit route for asylum seekers attempting to reach the UK.
UK border security officers were sent to Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina over the summer to build links and gain intelligence on smuggling gangs, it has been confirmed.
Under pressure on Monday to justify plans that will allow the escalation of the deportation of families from the UK, officials pointed to a number of people who had refused to return to their home countries despite having asylum claims rejected.
The Home Office has claimed there are about 700 Albanian families in the UK with no right to be here but until now the Home Office has chosen not to prioritise sending them home.
Albanian asylum claims remain low, and there has been more than a 90% drop in Albanian small-boat arrivals since 2022.
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Andi Hoxhaj, an associate fellow from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said the UK government appeared to be targeting and singling out Albanians in its rhetoric.
He said: “We saw the same issue under the previous Conservative administration and both the Albanian community and the Albanian government are deeply frustrated by the return of this narrative.
“This rhetoric seems increasingly tied to the government’s push to reinterpret or reform ECHR provisions on family rights – using Albanians as an example to make a broader political argument, like the Reform and Conservatives have made by using Albanians as an example.
“By specifically naming Albania, the home secretary is also responding to Farage’s messaging, as he has made Albanians a central part of his rhetoric.”
This is not the first time that Rama, one of Europe’s more flamboyant leaders who knelt while greeting the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, at an EU summit in May, has criticised a UK home secretary.
In November 2022 he accused Suella Braverman of “fuelling xenophobia and targeting, singling out a community” when she accused some Albanians of abusing modern slavery laws.
Mahmood’s office has been approached for a comment.
