The Foreign Secretary told MPs in private, that she wants to emulate the deal with Rwanda in an effort to fight the canal migrant crisis, The Times reports.
Her spokesperson did not immediately comment, but the… newspaper said it would like to open negotiations with Turkey, which already has the largest refugee population in the world.
Nearly four million Syrians have temporary protection status.
A source close to Truss confirmed that Turkey was the “kind of country that Liz might be looking at”, adding: “Whether the Turks are ready for that is another question.”
Tory MP Christopher Chope said Ms Truss had told him in recent days that she planned to make similar deals with other countries, citing Turkey and Spain.
Her campaign rejected the prospect of signing a deal with Spain, but Turkey was cited as a realistic possibility, according to The Times.
Liz Truss at Channel 4’s leadership debate (Victoria Jones/PA)
/ PA wireRival Penny Mordaunt, the secretary of international trade, said she would enforce the Rwanda policy, but it would be part of a four-point plan to fight illegal immigration.
Crossing the canal continued for the eighth consecutive day yesterday, with more than 130 people arriving, bringing this year’s total to more than 14,300.
More than 1,000 people arrived in the UK between Friday and Wednesday.
This is the combined second-longest consecutive series of crossings in 2022 to date, covering a nine-day stretch between April 11 and April 19, resulting in 2,143 people arriving during that period.
There was another seven-day stretch between June 12 and June 18 when 1,623 people made the crossing.
Several girls were among the last groups of people photographed in Dover, Kent, amid warm weather and calm seas.
The government has reportedly suspended new efforts to get the first deportation flight to the East African nation off the ground until the Conservative Party elects a new prime minister over fears it would cause too much controversy during the leadership contest. The plane was grounded in June amid legal difficulties.
Earlier this week, Defense Secretary James Heappey was charged with allegations that the navy had become a “guide for illegal migrants” since the Defense Ministry took charge of tackling the Channel crossings in April.
While questioned by MPs, Mr Heappey admitted the government had abandoned proposals to use pushbacks to reject migrants at sea in light of conclusions from naval experts following trials of the tactics by Royal Marines.
The interior ministry said it had removed 23 foreign criminals from the country on Thursday via a flight to Albania.