Sunak’s political romance with anti-migrant Italian PM
Having survived a revolt over his government's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda – for now – Rishi Sunak has been pencilled in to head to Italy this weekend, as a surprise guest at a political festival run by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s hard-right Brothers of Italy party.
The appearance would cement a political relationship that , centred around the issue of . Both leaders have been under pressure to of their pitch to voters. More than 145,000 people have reached Italy by sea so far this year, a sharp increase on the 88,000 the previous year. In the UK, around 28,000 people have crossed the channel in small boats, compared to 45,000 in 2022.
