Albania’s prime minister has denied that his country will take Channel migrants, saying he will “never receive refugees for richer countries.”

       Edi Rama attempted to head off a backlash within the Balkan state by rejecting claims that it could host an offshore processing centre for Channel migrants who reach the UK in small boats.

       Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, opened talks on the proposal when she signed an agreement in July for Albania to take back criminals deported from the UK.

       Ministers see Australian-style offshore processing centres to which migrants would be flown within seven days of arriving in the UK as a key potential deterrent to stem the record surge in Channel crossings. The Home Office is due to confirm on that more than 1,000 reached the UK on Tuesday.

       However, Mr Rama told Albania’s Top Channel: “Albania will never be a country where very rich countries will set up camps for their refugees. Never.”

       Foreign minister Olta Xhacka turned to Twitter to claim it was “same old fake news,” referring back to similar reports about the talks over the processing centre last month.

       Albanian commentators said the plan was raised when Ms Patel visited Albania in July but the Albanians made no promises. The earlier leak of the proposal in October enraged ministers, leading to angry denials. "There is not anything in the pipeline," said one commentator.

       The plan for offshore processing hubs is modelled on Australia which instigated a similar policy sending illegal migrants to a centre in Papua New Guinea, although it now uses the Pacific island of Nauru.

       The plan will be enacted as part of the Government Nationality and Borders Bill which aims to overhaul what Ms Patel describes as the UK’s “broken” asylum system.

       Immigration minister Tom Pursglove described it as an “important part” of the Government’s plans on Wednesday, while Dominic Raab said it was designed to counter the “pull factor” that drew migrants to cross the Channel to the UK.

       “We are looking at international partnerships that can take the processing out of the UK in order to try and reduce the pull factor which means people think they can successfully take advantage of these routes,” he told Times Radio.

       “Forgive me not commenting on the individual countries, a lot of these discussions are at a preliminary stage, it is much more than just one partner.”

       Ministers have been searching for a year for a suitable location for an offshore centre.

       Denmark is in talks with Rwanda to host a processing centre, and the British government has considered sharing it.

       Home Office officials also looked at a centre on Ascension Island, but that was deemed impractical.

       The officials tasked with developing the policy are said to have calculated the cost of flying migrants 1,500 miles to Albania and accommodating them could be as much as ￡100,000 per person.

       Ministers have also sanctioned Australian-style “push back” tactics at sea where migrants in the Channel would be stopped and turned back to France by Border Force officers on ski jets when safe and possible to do so.

       However, critics have warned that it will be rarely if ever deployed because of the potential risks to life in the Channel.

       Ministers are however determined to pursue both policies which were attributed by the then Australian prime minister Tony Abbott to slashing the number migrants reaching the country from 20,000 to 160 in a year.

       More than 24,500 migrants have reached the UK so far this year, including a record 1,185 in a single day this month. The total is nearly treble the 8,417 in the whole of 2020.