Cost of keeping EU criminals in British prisons hits £140m

TAXPAYERS faced a bill of more than £140million to keep more than 4,000 foreign criminals from other EU countries locked up in British jails last year, figures revealed yesterday.

Data released by the Ministry of Justice in response to a Freedom of Information request showed that 4,024 EU nationals languished in prisons in England and Wales in 2017.

Nearly 1,400 were serious offenders including violent thugs and sex offenders serving sentences of more than four years.

And more than half were serving jail terms of more than a year.

Foreign prisoners – including 911 Poles and 607 Romanians – added to the intense strain on the over-stretched prison system, with most jails already full.

The figures were released amid growing concern about an upsurge in violent crime across the country.

Critics last night urged the Government to step up efforts to deport foreign offenders on conviction to serve their sentences in their own countries.

The figures were released in response to a request from Get Britain Out, a cross-party pressure group campaigning for a full break with Brussels after the UK leaves the EU next year.

Jayne Adye, director of Get Britain Out, said: “Foreign criminals in our prisons represent a huge cost to the British taxpayer, at a time when we have huge domestic priorities.

“Any EU national who uses freedom of movement rights to come to the UK must abide by our laws and contribute to society.

“It is clear, given the longevity of many of these sentences, a worryingly high number of the offences committed were of a severe nature.

“The public rightly expect foreign criminals to be deported back to their own country once convicted, rather than being kept in British prisons at our expense.

“It is a disgrace that EU rules often weaken the UK Government's ability to deport these criminals. This is a clear example of EU membership working against the public interest.

“The fact many EU citizens are able to enter the UK despite having prior convictions is incredibly worrying.

“It is vital to ensure the safety of the public and vigorous checks must be carried out on all EU nationals entering the United Kingdom.

“After Brexit, and during the implementation period, the Government must ensure there are stringent new controls on EU immigration to prevent potential criminals entering Britain in the first place, as well as speeding up the process of deportation once convicted.”

Tory MP Philip Hollobone said: “Most of the EU nationals in UK prisons are from eastern Europe.

“The facts demonstrate that, with the accession of eastern European countries into the EU, we effectively imported a wave of crime which is why these people are clogging up our jails.”

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: “We are absolutely committed to removing foreign national offenders and 6,300 were removed in the last financial year.

“There are several mechanisms used to remove these prisoners from the UK; some are deported at the end of their sentence and others are sent home via transfer agreements with other countries.”

Officials insist that 41,000 foreign prisoners including EU nationals have been removed from jails in England and Wales since 2010.