Yrys
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Criminal deportations target met
A self-imposed target of removing at least 5,000 convicted foreign criminals
from the UK over the past year has been met, the government says.
The UK Border Agency was set the "tough target" by the government and now
has staff working in prisons to speed up the removal of foreign criminals. Those
deported included convicted killers and 200 sex offenders.
The Tories said the figures hid the fact thousands more foreign criminals were
being jailed or released early.
In 2006 then Home Secretary Charles Clarke ended up losing his job after it
emerged that more than 1,000 foreign offenders had been freed without being
considered for deportation.
Provisional UK Border Agency figures show 800 more offenders were deported
this year than last, a figure which met another government target. Among the
deported foreign prisoners were 50 people convicted of killings or attempted
killings, 200 sex offenders and more than 1,500 people found guilty of drug
offences.
Ministers say all non-EU prisoners convicted of serious drug or gun crimes are
now considered for deportation, irrespective of the length of their sentence.
Immigration minister Phil Woolas said: "Britain will not tolerate those that come
here and break our rules, which is why we set the UK Border Agency the tough
target of removing 5,000 foreign lawbreakers this year. "By exceeding this target
we're showing once again that there's no place in Britain for those that continue
to abuse our trust. "We now consider for deportation all non-European Economic
Area foreign nationals who go to prison for serious drug and gun offences, no
matter what the length of sentence."
'Pitiful progress'
But the Conservatives said statistics showed that for every three foreigners
removed from the UK, two were freed having served less than half their sentence
and with a taxpayer-funded allowance, and six more were added to the prison
population.
Shadow justice secretary Nick Herbert said the numbers had risen so fast that
three jails were now dedicated to housing foreign criminals. He said: "Far from
paying the price as Gordon Brown promised, foreign national offenders are being
rewarded by serving less than half of their jail sentence and with taxpayers' cash
in their back pockets."
Sir Andrew Green, the chairman of campaign group Migrationwatch UK, said:
"This is a welcome announcement but it is designed to deflect attention from a 10%
drop in the removal of failed asylum seekers and pitiful progress in removing
illegal immigrants. "Effective removal is vital to a credible immigration system
but the government is still not putting their back into it."
Licence scheme
Justice Minister David Hanson said the government would end End of Custody
Licence (ECL) "when headroom allows".
Those inmates who are eligible for that scheme - introduced to tackle prison
overcrowding - can be freed a further 18 days earlier than the time indicated
by half their sentence. ECL applies only to those serving between four weeks
and four years and is not available to prisoners convicted of the most serious
crimes.
Mr Hanson said: "We are working extremely hard, with the fastest ever creation
of prison spaces and when we judge it is safe to do so, we will end ECL. "Those
prisoners who present the highest risk to the public are excluded from consideration
under ECL. "All prisoners are provided with basic subsistence to enable them to pay
for accommodation etc following release."
A self-imposed target of removing at least 5,000 convicted foreign criminals
from the UK over the past year has been met, the government says.
The UK Border Agency was set the "tough target" by the government and now
has staff working in prisons to speed up the removal of foreign criminals. Those
deported included convicted killers and 200 sex offenders.
The Tories said the figures hid the fact thousands more foreign criminals were
being jailed or released early.
In 2006 then Home Secretary Charles Clarke ended up losing his job after it
emerged that more than 1,000 foreign offenders had been freed without being
considered for deportation.
Provisional UK Border Agency figures show 800 more offenders were deported
this year than last, a figure which met another government target. Among the
deported foreign prisoners were 50 people convicted of killings or attempted
killings, 200 sex offenders and more than 1,500 people found guilty of drug
offences.
Ministers say all non-EU prisoners convicted of serious drug or gun crimes are
now considered for deportation, irrespective of the length of their sentence.
Immigration minister Phil Woolas said: "Britain will not tolerate those that come
here and break our rules, which is why we set the UK Border Agency the tough
target of removing 5,000 foreign lawbreakers this year. "By exceeding this target
we're showing once again that there's no place in Britain for those that continue
to abuse our trust. "We now consider for deportation all non-European Economic
Area foreign nationals who go to prison for serious drug and gun offences, no
matter what the length of sentence."
'Pitiful progress'
But the Conservatives said statistics showed that for every three foreigners
removed from the UK, two were freed having served less than half their sentence
and with a taxpayer-funded allowance, and six more were added to the prison
population.
Shadow justice secretary Nick Herbert said the numbers had risen so fast that
three jails were now dedicated to housing foreign criminals. He said: "Far from
paying the price as Gordon Brown promised, foreign national offenders are being
rewarded by serving less than half of their jail sentence and with taxpayers' cash
in their back pockets."
Sir Andrew Green, the chairman of campaign group Migrationwatch UK, said:
"This is a welcome announcement but it is designed to deflect attention from a 10%
drop in the removal of failed asylum seekers and pitiful progress in removing
illegal immigrants. "Effective removal is vital to a credible immigration system
but the government is still not putting their back into it."
Licence scheme
Justice Minister David Hanson said the government would end End of Custody
Licence (ECL) "when headroom allows".
Those inmates who are eligible for that scheme - introduced to tackle prison
overcrowding - can be freed a further 18 days earlier than the time indicated
by half their sentence. ECL applies only to those serving between four weeks
and four years and is not available to prisoners convicted of the most serious
crimes.
Mr Hanson said: "We are working extremely hard, with the fastest ever creation
of prison spaces and when we judge it is safe to do so, we will end ECL. "Those
prisoners who present the highest risk to the public are excluded from consideration
under ECL. "All prisoners are provided with basic subsistence to enable them to pay
for accommodation etc following release."
