Record total of 10,373 foreign criminals freed to live in Britain

THE number of foreign criminals released from prison on to Britain’s streets instead of being deported has topped 10,000 for the first time.

Official figures showed there were 10,373 foreign national offenders living in the community at the end of last year.

This was up more than 160 per cent on 2012, when it was less than 4,000.

Just under 2,600 foreign criminals were freed from jail but not deported during 2020 – an average of seven a day.

Instead of staying locked up until they are thrown out, many are released to be ‘managed in the community’.

Some then abscond, potentially putting the public in danger.

For example, Libyan Khairi Saadallah, who killed three people in a knife rampage in Reading last June, had been released from jail 16 days before the terror attack.

There has been widespread opposition to deportations to some countries, such as a charter flight to Jamaica in December that triggered a campaign by celebrities including supermodel Naomi Campbell.

Home Secretary Priti Patel blasted crit

‘It is an outrage’

ics who compared the removal of serious offenders including killers and rapists to victims of the Windrush scandal, which targeted entirely innocent legal migrants.

Lawyers for 23 Jamaican criminals including a murderer blocked their removal at the last minute.

Figures emerged last month showing the number of foreign criminals deported from Britain plummeted to the lowest level on record last year. Just 3,374 foreign offenders were removed from the country, a staggering 34 per cent fall year on year.

The decline cannot be blamed entirely on the pandemic because numbers have been falling for four years.

David Spencer, of the Centre for Crime Prevention, said: ‘It is an outrage that so many convicted foreign criminals have been left free to roam our streets.

‘The Home Secretary needs to ensure that, where possible, all foreign criminals are returned to their home country once they have served their time.’