Keir Starmer says returns agreement with Afghanistan would not be possible

Labour leader says plans for returns agreements with safe countries to clear asylum backlog would not include deal with Afghanistan

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Keir Starmer has admitted for the first time that he cannot return people to Afghanistan, after a bitter exchange in Wednesday night’s debate where Rishi Sunak mocked him for planning to “sit down with the ayatollahs” to negotiate return agreements.

Starmer has repeatedly said he plans to negotiate returns agreements with safe countries in order to clear the asylum backlog, which has worsened due to the government’s recent legislation which does not allow asylum seekers to be processed while it waits to start deportations to Rwanda.