700 KILLERS LET INTO UK ‘A DISGRACE’
MP blames our ‘lax borders’
MORE than 700 foreign killers were caught living on Britain’s streets in just two years.
Rapists and child abusers also moved to the UK from 2015 to 2017, according to Criminal Records Office checks.
Most of the 700 foreigners who had murder or manslaughter convictions came from eastern Europe.
On top of this, 741 people with rape convictions and 362 with child sex criminal records arrived here.
Critics claim that inadequate border checks are to blame.
David Spencer, of the Centre for Crime Prevention think tank, said: “These shocking figures show that Brexit cannot come quick enough for the safety of the British public.”
Fears are the figures could be higher as the suspects came to light after being arrested on suspicion of carrying out new crimes in Britain.
The Conservative MP Philip Hollobone said: “It is nothing short of a national disgrace that thousands of foreign convicted criminals are allowed freely to enter and live in the UK despite having horrendous criminal records in their own country.
“Far from enhancing our domestic security, our membership of the EU and adherence to freedom of movement has made it even easier for these EU nationals to slip into our country undetected.”
A spokesman for the Criminal Records Office said the two-year figures were partly due to a rise in requests from British police forces and more countries being linked to the computer system. Suspected Romanian crime lord Florin Ghinea, one of Europol’s most wanted men, is among European fugitives who face being kicked out of the UK.