Home Secretary Theresa May accused of ‘shocking’ failure on foreign crooks
HOME Secretary Theresa May has been accused of being a “complete failure” over her department’s inability to kick out foreign prisoners.
The system for deporting criminals is “dysfunctional”, says a Parliamentary report published today, with the number behind bars “stubbornly” stuck at about 10,000.
Around one in six of the 4,200 released into the community ahead of deportation – including murderers and rapists – vanished before they could be expelled while another 151 were freed without even being considered for removal.
And deportation delays led to 229 criminals receiving more than £6.2million taxpayer-funded compensation during the last year.
Jonathan Isaby, of the Taxpayers Alliance, said of the “damning” report: “We must tear up the system and start again.
"The cost of delays and compensation is eye-watering.
"To lose one in six foreign criminals is shocking.”
Any foreign criminal jailed for 12 months or more can be considered for deportation.
But MPs on the Public Accounts Committee discovered the number removed last year fell from a peak of 5,613 in 2009 to just over 5,000.
And more than one in three left only after getting taxpayer-funded bribes of £1,500.
The disturbing failures come despite a 10-fold increase in resources aimed at dealing with the massive problem and keeping the public safe.
There has been a complete failure to improve the management and removal of foreign offenders
The cost of managing and removing foreign offenders is estimated at £850million, about £100million more than managing the same number of UK prisoners.
Separate Government figures last month showed there are now more than 1,300 murderers and rapists among 11,000 foreign criminals in jail or walking the streets.
Committee chairwoman Margaret Hodge said it was “just not good enough”.
She added: “There has been a complete failure to improve the management and removal of foreign offenders.
"The system still appears to be dysfunctional.”
The committee also found only one in three foreigners arrested last year were checked against an overseas criminal records database.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “It’s a damning report of failure and incompetence.
"They are deporting fewer criminals, criminal records are not being checked at the borders and basic errors are delaying deportation.”
Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said: “Foreign criminals should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them.
"We’ve removed 22,000 since 2010, despite a 30 per cent surge in appeals.”
