‘Complete scandal’ as foreign criminals refuse to leave UK | Politics | News
Latest figures have shown that almost half of foreign criminals refuse to leave the country and decide to fight deportation. Between July 2024 and this July, only 2,632 people, or 51%, were released directly from prison under the Early Release Programme.
This means that 49 percent decided to oppose their deportation on human rights grounds. Because they cannot be detained indefinitely, they will be released onto the streets after serving their sentences and while taxpayer-funded appeals are launched. The figures were released following a parliamentary question, but the number of people refusing to leave the UK voluntarily has caused outrage.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Anyone who comes to this country and breaks our laws needs to be deported – it’s that simple.
“It is an absolute scandal that the government has failed to remove almost half of foreign criminals under the Early Release Scheme before they are released onto the streets.
“Given what we know about the recidivism rate of early releasers, this is a clear danger to the public.”
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson said: “It is a national disgrace that half of foreign-born criminals are allowed to remain in this country. This is another example of the soft touch on Britain.”
“Under the Reform government in the UK, any foreign criminals will be deported immediately after their prison sentence ends. There are no ifs, no buts.”
The Home Office said the number of people volunteering for early dismissal was up 10% on the previous 12 months, when 2,385 people left.
Foreign criminals accounted for 5,179 of the total returns since Labor came to power in July 2024; This is up 14% compared to FNO returns of 4,532 in the same period 12 months ago.
A government spokesman said: “We are committed to deporting foreign national criminals and aim to remove them from the UK at the earliest opportunity.
“Those who object to early deportation may be detained for a reasonable period of time after the end of their prison sentence while we proceed with deportation.
“Stringent measures, including electronic monitoring, are being taken to manage foreign criminals in society. We remain focused on managing cases through the legal process so that we can remove all obstacles to their deportation.”
