Sir Keir Starmer blasted by pro-Corbyn group over 'disturbing' migration plan

The Labour Party is said to be drawing up its own alternative to the Government's Rwanda migration plan, as part of an attempt to neautralise attacks from the Conservative Party ahead of a general election.

But hitting back at the plans, a spokesperson for Momentum - which was founded in 2017 to support Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party - said: "This is a disturbing report.

"Labour should not be the party of more deportations and more effective offshoring, and it doesn’t need to be.

"As migration experts have said, the way to minimise perilous small boat crossings is to expand safe routes for refugees.

"Instead of aping inhumane Tory policies like offshoring asylum seekers, Keir Starmer should be standing up for progressive values and migrants’ rights.

"In doing so, he can offer a practical alternative to the Tories’ cruel and divisive war on migrants."

This came after sources told the Times the Labour leader is considering detailed plans for offshore processing schemes, which would see asylum seekers have their claims processed overseas.

However, he is said to have ruled out introducing Rwanda-style deportations.

Three tests must be met in order to secure the party's seal of approval, shadow ministers and party officials working on the plans have warned.

They have warned it must be cost-effective and credible enough to deter migrants from crossing the channel.

It also must clear the legal hurdles which have left the Government's Rwanda scheme beleaguered by issues.

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The main difference between Labour's plan and the current proposals put forward by the Tories is that any refugees who are granted asylum status in the offshore processing centres would be returned to the UK.

A senior Labour source told the Times: "We've always looked at the small boats issue as a problem that needs to be solved, and we've always been open to a range of possible solutions."

They added: "The Tories like to compare Rwanda to the schemes tht other European countries are considering, but this is a false comparison because other European governments are looking at options around offshore processing, whereas the Rwanda scheme is about sending asylum seekers to another country permanently".