Criminals serving 156 years in jail have escaped deportation
DANGEROUS foreign criminals serving a total of 156 years in jail have been allowed to escape deportation.
A murderer sentenced to life, several rapists, two convicted of attempted murder, violent car thieves and drug dealers were all taken off a flight to Jamaica at the last minute.
A source said 23 were “serious criminals” sentenced to 156 years behind bars.
Late legal challenges by campaign groups and human rights lawyers meant 37 of 50 on the flight were not removed from this country.
But officials have vowed to continue fighting to deport the convicts, with one Tory MP saying: “The law is clear – they should be deported.”
Condemned
Home Office sources said that “once barriers to removal are resolved, we will seek to remove them at the next opportunity”.
They condemned “lefty lawyers” for challenging deportations hours before the flights are due to take off.
Immigration minister Chris Philp said: “It is disappointing that specialist immigration law firms continued to use last- minute tactics to remove a significant number of offenders from this flight.”
He added: “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.
“Those we are attempting to remove have committed crimes which have a devastating impact on victims and their families.
“We will be working through these cases as quickly as possible.
“I remain committed to removing foreign criminals and anyone without a legal basis to be here to keep the
British public safe, which will always be my number one priority.”
Tory MP Neil O’Brien said: “[ Home Secretary] Priti Patel and Chris Philp deserve credit for managing to deport criminals from this country.
“But there are certainly questions about why it is like wading through treacle and how we can make it easier. These are very dangerous criminals. The law is clear – they should be deported.”
Left- wing MPs, including ex- Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, wrote to Ms Patel saying “some of the individuals affected arrived in this country as children. Many now have children of their own. Britain is their home.”
They also compared the deportations to the Windrush Scandal.
But in the Lords on Tuesday, former Tory minister Lord Vaizey pointed out that the deportations were under the last Labour government’s legislation. He added: “The Government is dealing with the fallout from the Windrush scandal, but this case has nothing to do with it.”
PM Boris Johnson’s spokesman said: “Obviously it is disappointing that late legal tactics stopped us removing a number of other criminals on this flight – and it’s worth noting that includes a murderer and a rapist.”