In August of this year, it was reported that about 12,000 Albanians had arrived illegally in Great Britain during 2022. Now Crown Prince Leka II of Albania has taken a strong stand against what he calls the ”demonization” of Albanians.
It all started when MP James Daly said he wanted to return all Albanians that have entered the UK this year, writing on Twitter that he thought there are no reasons why Albanians should be granted asylum in the United Kingdoms. The British Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has also received strong criticism after she referred to the illegal migration to Britain as an invasion.
Crown Prince Leka wrote on Twitter: “The UK has a population of 67 million, with 6 million emigrants.12 thousand Albanians is not an invasion. The failings of British law enforcement is not our responsibility. A vast number of Albanians coming to Great Britain are from the EU and not Albania. Stop demonizing us for your own internal political benefits!”.
British journalist Sophie Corcoran then asked on Twitter that if you couldn’t describe 12,000 Albanians as an invasion, what would you then call it? The Crown Prince of Albania replied to the tweet: “An improvement to British society”.
Albanians are an ethnic group numbering at least 7 million people, of which only 2.5 million actually live in the state of Albania. The 2011 Census recorded 13,295 Albanian-born residents in England. In August 2022, it was reported that British government officials believed that Albanians made up 50 to 60% of irregular small boat migrant arrivals to the United Kingdom.
