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Starmer faces backlash over Meloni meeting

(Photo by Phil Noble - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

There’s trouble in Sir Keir’s Labour paradise, it seems, after the Prime Minister jetted off to Italy for a migration-focused meet-up with Giorgia Meloni. The PM is struggling to find a small boat-busting strategy; with over 800 migrants crossing the Channel to English shores on Saturday alone, Starmer has turned to his European allies for help. Meloni’s Italy has seen a rather large drop in small boat arrivals this year compared to last, with the help of a deterrent in the form of Albania – and the Labour leader is hoping to pick up some tips during his jaunt around Rome. Yet not everyone is particularly thrilled about the meeting…

As Katy Balls wrote this morning, Starmer’s trip has been met with howls of outrage from those on the left. Take Labour left-winger Kim Johnson, for example, who fumed to the Guardian that ‘it is disturbing that Starmer is seeking to learn lessons from a neo-fascist government’.

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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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