80,000 criminals and illegal migrants may have slipped net

UP TO 80,000 foreign criminals and illegal migrants may have gone under the radar as in-person checks were cancelled during the pandemic.

David Neal, the chief inspector of borders and immigration, said the immigration service replaced in-person checks with telephone contact for all but 11,000 of the 80,000 foreign and immigration offenders.

However, even for those 11,000 deemed the highest risk, Mr Neal said there was little proactive investigation into their personal background including any change of address that would be vital in the event of reoffending.

He said that when they came to report in person “inspectors observed very little evidence of the recording of data and information”.

He said the “proactive collection of information was minimal” and that there were “perfunctory and inadequate interactions with staff” and a “lack of proactive questioning and recording of a significant change in a reportee’s personal circumstances”.

The report quoted one Home Office staff saying measures introduced from 2018 to “automate” the system of reporting and to cut costs had led to fewer details being collected. Such information could prove important in the event of reoffending by one of the 11,000 or so foreign criminals who are living among the public.

The report said: “The majority of individuals currently required to report are those whom the Home Office considers present the greatest potential risk of causing harm to UK society, often foreign national offenders with previous convictions in the UK.”

Think tank Migration Watch UK, which highlighted the report, said the consequences could be very serious in light of the risk to the public from reoffending by serious non-uk criminals in the community who may attempt to disappear from the Home Office radar.

Alp Mehmet, of Migration Watch, said: “This inspection report finds that the Home Office has given up on keeping proper track of at least 70,000 immigration offenders.

“What is more worrying is that inspectors say many in the reporting population represent a great potential risk. The Government’s claims to be getting immigration under control look increasingly absurd. It is time to revert to serious enforcement.”

The Home Office accepted a recommendation “it should revisit the purpose and scope of a reporting event to ensure information is proactively and routinely collected and recorded”.