Thousands of foreign criminals to be deported as minister vows to 'send them packing'

Foreign criminals must not be given “free bed and board”, a minister has declared as the government vowed to “send them packing”.

The Government has announced it is introducing powers for immediate deportation from prison, with all foreign nationals who break the law being deported immediately. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has proposed a law change, which could save taxpayers an average £54,000 per year per prison place, and see up to 3000 convicts from abroad kicked out of Britain.

The changes would apply to prisoners serving fixed-term sentences, and authorities would retain their power not to deport a criminal but instead keep them in custody. It comes after Keir Starmer hails a major UK-France deal to tackle Channel small boat crossings.

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Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Alex Davies-Jones told the Sunday Mirror: “Foreign criminals who come here and break the law should expect to be deported – not given free bed and board in our jails while their victims must rebuild their lives.

“Today’s announcement is about putting victims first. Today, too many victims see their offenders serve time in a British jail, at their expense, and then leave prison with a right to remain in this country. Now, that will change. Foreign criminals will face immediate deportation following sentencing and lifetime bans from re-entering the UK. Victims can be safe in the knowledge that their perpetrators cannot return to these shores to offend again.

“This is part of our Plan for Change to fix the broken criminal justice system we inherited and make our streets safer. This includes building 14,000 more prison places, reforming sentencing and ensuring victims get the support they need. This Government will always be on the side of victims and survivors, not those who harm them.”

The change will apply to everyone who is not a terrorist or serving a life sentence, with discretion not to deport if there are concerns about threats to national security or the victims. There are currently around 10,000 foreign nationals in British jails, with a quarter on remand while they wait for trials or sentencing.

Almost 5,200 foreign national offenders have been deported since July 2024, a 14% increase on the 12 months prior, according to the Government.

The Justice Secretary's announcement follows a tweak in the law in June, expected to come into force in September, so prisoners face deportation 30 per cent into their prison sentence rather than the current 50 per cent. The Government will need Parliament to greenlight its proposal to bring this down to 0%.

Ms Madmood said: "This Government is taking radical action to deport foreign criminals, as part of our Plan for Change. Deportations are up under this Government, and with this new law they will happen earlier than ever before. Our message is clear: if you abuse our hospitality and break our laws, we will send you packing.”

The move is likely to stir discomfort for some Labour MPs, who are unhappy with the rhetoric used by the Government. Earlier this year, more than 100 refugee charities signed an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for united communities and an end to “hostile politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past”.

Under international law, countries must take back their nationals, meaning no deals are required with other states. The government can just put criminals on a plane and send them back.

In May, the Independent Sentencing Review recommended the law change so most foreign prisoners could be deported after serving 30 percent of their prison time, rather than 50 percent, and up to four years before their release, rather than the current 18 months.

Ministers have also invested £5 million for the deployment of specialist staff to almost 80 jails with a focus on removals. According to a Labour source, the previous Conservative government relied on prison transfer agreements with other countries to deport foreign national offenders, in deals which allow inmates to serve their custodial sentence in their "home" country.

This saw 945 prisoners sent to jails abroad between 2010 and 2023, equal to less than one-and-a-half criminals per week. Foreign national offenders make up around 12% of the prison population.

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