Meloni also said that the accord her government reached with Tirana to set up migrant centres in Albania was among the issues discussed.

“We agree that we should not be afraid to explore new solutions [regarding the management of migrants],” Meloni told reporters.

“We talked about the Italy-Albania protocol, which the British government is paying a lot of attention to.

“We provided elements to make it possible to better understand this mechanism.”

Before the meeting, Starmer said he wanted to work with the Italy on migrant issues.

“We already have a common intention to work together against this dastardly trade of pushing people across borders,” said Starmer, as reported by the Guardian.

His comments came during his visit to an immigration coordination centre in Rome.

“Here [in Italy] there have been quite drastic reductions.

“So, I want to understand how this happened.

“It seems that this is due to the upstream work done in some of the countries where people are coming from.

“I have long believed that preventing people from travelling is one of the best ways to tackle the problem.”

ANSA