As the UK continues to grapple with a surge in migrant Channel crossings, a familiar voice from overseas is urging the British government to reconsider a controversial policy.
Alexander Downer, the architect of Australia’s hardline approach to illegal immigration, is calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to bring back the scrapped Rwanda deportation scheme.
“Swallow the Pride and Reinstate It,” Says Downer
Downer, who served as Australia’s foreign minister for over a decade, didn’t mince words in his recent comments to The Sun.
He urged Starmer to “eat a bit of political humble pie” and bring back the Rwanda policy—one of the first things the Labour leader dismantled after taking office.
He believes the plan had serious potential and was only derailed by legal challenges that, in his view, were close to being resolved.
“It would have worked assuming the legal issues could be properly addressed — and they were being,” he said.
Starmer Still Dismisses the Plan as a “Gimmick”
Sir Keir Starmer, for his part, has remained critical of the policy, which was introduced by the previous Conservative government.
He’s described the Rwanda scheme as an overpriced “gimmick” that failed to deliver real results, pointing to its £700 million cost and continued migrant arrivals despite its implementation.
Instead, Starmer has promised to focus on tackling human smuggling at the source—by going after the international criminal networks facilitating these dangerous journeys.
Migrant Crossings Surge Again in the Channel
The backdrop to this renewed debate is a fresh spike in arrivals.
Just this week, more than 2,200 people crossed the Channel in small boats—a number not seen in nearly two years.
That translates to roughly one migrant arriving in the UK every four and a half minutes over the past seven days.
Since Labour came to power in July of last year, over 40,000 migrants have made the journey, with 17,034 arriving just this year—a 38% increase compared to the same time last year.
Downer Points to Australia’s Tough Approach
Downer is no stranger to controversial immigration measures.
In the early 2000s, he helped engineer Australia’s now-infamous offshore processing model.
Migrants arriving by boat were sent to detention centres on the Pacific islands of Papua New Guinea and Nauru, often with the option of returning home or resettling elsewhere.
His reasoning? Make the journey pointless. “Once word got round that if you tried to get into Australia by boat you would not be allowed in and would be sent to Papua New Guinea instead, they ran out of customers,” he said.
According to the Australian government, maritime arrivals of asylum seekers dropped by 90% following the policy’s rollout in 2013.
Labour’s Alternative: International Return Hubs
Though Starmer has rejected the Rwanda model, his government isn’t ignoring the crisis.
Last month, he revealed a new plan involving negotiations with other countries to set up “return hubs” for failed asylum seekers.
These third-country processing centres would allow for deportations without returning individuals directly to the country they fled from.
Starmer admits this won’t be a magic fix, but he hopes it will act as a deterrent for migrants considering the dangerous journey.
Farage Blames Britain, Not France
Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has entered the conversation, placing the blame squarely on Britain’s own policies.
“We will never stop the boats from leaving France,” he said during an interview with Talk. “It’s about time we accept that it’s our fault they keep coming here.”
Where the Debate Goes Next
The sharp divide over how to manage migration remains one of the UK’s most pressing political challenges.
Whether Starmer’s new strategy proves effective—or whether pressure will mount to revive the Rwanda plan—remains to be seen.
But with thousands continuing to cross the Channel and critics from all directions weighing in, it’s clear the issue isn’t going away anytime soon.