Nine criminals get deportation reprieve
MINISTERS are at war with lawyers after foreign criminals due to be deported were taken off a flight at the “last minute” yesterday.
At least nine Jamaicans – including a murderer and a rapist, according to Downing Street – did not board a plane at Stansted after interventions by their legal teams.
The reprieves were granted after the Home Office admitted they may be victims of modern slavery and just 13 convicts were sent back. Campaigners had battled to halt the flight to Jamaica amid concerns over the Windrush scandal, but the Government insisted none of the offenders was eligible for the Windrush compensation scheme.
The Home Office said the 13 who did fly had combined sentences of over 100 years, including three who were convicted of murder.
Others had been sentenced for crimes like grooming, drug dealing, burglary and robbery. According to charities, lawyers had also gone to court to prevent parents set to board the flight being separated from their children.
Boris Johnson’s spokesman said it was “disappointing”, adding: “We are determined to remove serious foreign criminals who committed offences in the UK. We obviously make no apologies for that.”
Immigration Minister Chris Philp said: “These individuals had every opportunity to raise the claims in the days and weeks leading up to the flight; however, a significant number of claims were not submitted until hours before the flight was due to leave – meaning murderers and rapists have been able to stay in the UK.
“We will be working through these cases as quickly as possible.”
Bella Sankey, director of charity Detention Action, said the lastminute claims were filed because the Government had “failed to provide effective access to justice before mass expulsions”.