A heated debate erupted at the end of last June between Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and British politician Nigel Farage, following the latter's statements on the number of Albanians in British prisons and his calls for mass deportations. The issue turned into a direct duel of figures, facts and political rhetoric, including an invitation for an official visit to Albania, which recently yielded results, with Farage saying that he would have lunch with Rama in a few weeks.

It all started when Nigel Farage, former MEP and leader of the Reform UK party, publicly stated that “1 in 50 Albanians in Britain is in prison”, using this claim as an argument for his demand that Albanians be deported. This statement was followed by an immediate reaction from Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who described the figure as untrue and influenced by “post-Brexit rhetoric”.

Rama publicly challenged Farage's statements on the social network "X", asking him to provide real facts. He stated that, in fact, the ratio of Albanians imprisoned in the United Kingdom is "less than 1 in 100", emphasizing that many of them face problems due to an overstretched visa and immigration system.

Farage, not backing down from his statements, repeated the aforementioned figure and accused Rama of “hypocrisy,” referring to Albania’s agreement with Italy to host third-party migrants. In a video message posted on social media, he called Rama a “pro-EU and anti-Brexit” politician, adding ironically: “If you’re so good, why don’t you take all our prisoners?”

On the other hand, Rama continued to publicly reject Farage’s claims, stressing that these figures are part of a “tired political propaganda” aimed at creating cultural divisions and blaming immigrants for Britain’s internal problems. He cited data from the Albanian Embassy in London, which highlights that the Albanian community in Britain is much larger than Farage claims — over 300,000 Albanians — and consists mainly of professionals, workers, entrepreneurs and integrated citizens.

At the height of the debate, Rama made a public invitation to Farage to visit Albania as an “honored guest,” to discuss real facts, far from populism and propaganda. “If your claim of ‘1 in 50’ turns out to be correct, I will publicly commit to taking them all back,” Rama declared in an ironic message. “But if you are wrong, I will wait in Albania to get to know our reality and our people.”

Farage accepted the invitation, stating that he would meet with Rama to discuss the issue of deporting Albanian citizens convicted in Britain. In a speech to his party members, he added with irony: “I will book a very large plane and maybe take a load of (prisoners) with me.”

Nigel Farage's accepted visit to Albania is expected to take place in the coming weeks, where the two public figures will have the opportunity to discuss the reality of immigration, justice and statistics face to face. Rama has promised that the meeting will not be for "show", but to put the truths on the table.

What started as a clash over statistics turned into a broader discussion on the role of Albanian immigrants in the United Kingdom, populist rhetoric, and the relationship between British domestic politics and the reality of foreign communities.

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