Russian spies could hijack migrant “return hubs” proposed by Sir Keir Starmer as an antidote to the ongoing illegal Channel boat crossing crisis, MI6 has warned. Spooks have said deporting migrants to the centres in regions like the western Balkans could be unsafe because of geographical and political proximity to Russia.
Security sources have strongly advised the Government British infrastructure placed in the region which is under a “Russian sphere of influence” could be infiltrated and targeted by Kremlin agents, according to the Times. The briefing also said migrants themselves could be exploited by spies working for Putin.
It’s reported Labour are in talks with a “number of countries” in the region where some nations have close historical links to Moscow. A minister told the Times creating the hubs as a way to combat the illegal migrant crisis was a “really important innovation”.
The paper reports Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are on a shortlist of nine nations where rejected asylum seekers could be relocated once all legal appeals have been exhausted in the UK courts. Albania had also been considered but was ruled out publicly by the Prime Minister Edi Rama, humiliating Sir Keir as he was on a visit to the country claiming the hubs could be a possibility.
The Times reports a government source who was briefed by security officials said: “The advice we got was you’d be sending people into a Russian sphere of interest.
“They cited critical UK national infrastructure, facilities and systems that would be set up that could be infiltrated by the Russians by installing agents and other personnel working in the interest of the Kremlin.”
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