Albania is legally closer to Europe than Rwanda

While it is expected the vast majority of claims will be rejected, any migrant making a successful claim from Albania will be allowed into Italy.

Albania is geographically and legally closer to Europe than Rwanda. It is a candidate country to join the EU, as well as a Nato member.

Unlike Rwanda, Albania is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, the non-EU agreement of which the UK is also a member. Those shared values and legal commitments spared Ms Meloni some of the legal difficulties the Rwanda plan faced in British courts.

In November, the UK Supreme Court said the plan broke the European Convention and that Rwanda had a poor human rights record. There was a risk that genuine refugees could be returned to their home countries from Rwanda and face torture, it said.

Later, a court in Belfast ruled the Rwanda plan could not apply in Northern Ireland because of human rights provisions in the Brexit agreements for the region.

Waiting to join the EU

Albania has been waiting to join the EU for the past 10 years but, unlike Northern Ireland, European law does not hold sway there yet.

“The preliminary assessment by our legal service is that this is not violating EU law, it’s outside EU law,” said Ylva Johansson, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, of the agreement last year.

Ms Meloni has not escaped criticism. NGOs blame her strict rules for stopping them saving migrants at sea. She has decreed that rescue ships can only pick up migrants from one boat at a time and must return to port rather than look for more boats at sea.

Despite being delayed, the Albania deal appears to be having a deterrent effect, with migrant arrivals across the Mediterranean from North Africa dropping by 64 per cent.

The drop in numbers is also thanks to EU-brokered pacts with countries such as Libya and Tunisia. Italy and the EU struck a deal in July last year in which they paid Tunisia €105 million (£88.5 million) to train its coastguard and improve border security.

Booster payment to Tunisia

Ms Meloni also paid Tunisia €100 million to boost business, renewable energy projects and education investment. Boat crossings from Tunisia to Italy have dropped by 80 per cent.

The agreements with Kais Saied, Tunisia’s autocratic president, have been criticised by human rights organisations.

Last month, human rights groups claimed migrants and asylum seekers had been expelled from the coastal city of Sfax, Tunisia’s main departure point for Italy, and taken by authorities to the governorate of Gafsa, nearer to the border with Algeria in the south of the country.

About 30 people were found “in catastrophic humanitarian condition”, according to FTDES, a Tunisian rights group.

However, the deal with Tunisia has the strong backing of the EU. Ms Meloni played a crucial role in driving forward those negotiations, working with the European Commission despite her long history of hostility towards the EU.

Sir Keir wants a migrant return deal with the EU and a security pact, including provisions against illegal migration, hence his decision to pick Ms Meloni’s brains for pointers.