Sir Keir Starmer is facing calls to send back to their home countries 10,000 foreign prisoners languishing in overcrowded UK jails.
The government has announced plans to release thousands of prisoners onto the streets, saying the move is essential to prevent prisons from running out of space.
But Justice Ministry figures show that 10,422 foreigners are being held, or about one in eight. Of these, 6,632 have been convicted of a crime and sentenced, while the rest are in pretrial detention.
Under the UK Borders Act 2007, the Home Secretary has a legal duty to deport anyone who is not an Irish or British citizen and who is sentenced to at least 12 months in prison, unless doing so would infringe their fundamental rights. He also has the power to deport any non-British person where it is “in the public interest”.
Reform Party deputy leader Richard Tice said: “It is clearly in the public interest to remove all 10,000 nationals from our prisons, whether they are convicted or on remand.”
“It’s the right thing to do in itself, and it will free up space in our prison system, meaning there will no longer be a need to prematurely release thousands of prisoners who have not served their sentences,” the MP said.
The most common non-British nationality in British prisons is Albanian, with 1,273 inmates, followed by Poles, with 906, and Romanians, with 750.
Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood said last week that the prisoner release policy was essential to prevent prisons from running out of space within weeks, leading to “a complete breakdown of law and order”.
She said prisons were “on the verge of collapse” with just 700 adult male places left and prisons operating at 99% capacity since the start of 2023.
The plans presented by Ms Mahmood include a temporary reduction in the proportion of the sentence many prisoners must serve in prison, from 50% to 40%.
It is expected to come into force in September, giving the probation service time to plan for the release of offenders.
