Rishi Sunak has won praise from the far right in Europe for his plans to bar asylum seekers who arrive in the UK on small boats.
The prime minister described his policy as “tough” but “necessary and fair” as the government unveiled plans for fresh laws to curb Channel crossings.
On Tuesday, it was confirmed new laws will stop people claiming asylum in the UK if they arrive through unauthorised means.
Asylum seekers arriving illegally would be detained and face a lifetime ban on returning after they were removed. They would never be allowed to settle in the country or gain citizenship.
Promoting the policy at a Downing Street press conference, Sunak stood behind a lectern emblazoned with the words “stop the boats”.
Salvini serves in Italy’s first far-right led government since the end of the Second World War. Zemmour, a former TV pundit who has falsely claimed that Adolf Hitler’s Vichy collaborators protected France’s Jews, based his failed bid for the French presidency entirely on migration.
Salvini shared an image of Sunak accompanied by details of his policy online.
“Prime minister of the UK. Harsh but fair,” the leader of the anti-immigrant League party captioned it on Instagram.
Zemmour said: “In the UK, illegal immigrants are not welcome and will get no preferential treatment.
“Congratulations to the British prime minister who, unlike Macron’s government, is choosing to protect his people from the flood of migration.”
Sunak will meet French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday as he seeks further help stopping the migrant boats leaving French shores.
The UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR, said it was “profoundly concerned” by the plans and said they would amount to an “asylum ban”.