Plan for league table of migrant crime

Senior Tories demand detailed analysis to toughen visa and deportation policies

THE migrant nationalities with the highest rates of crime will be revealed in league tables under plans to be considered by ministers.

The proposal, backed by senior Tory MPs, would require the crime rates of each nation’s migrants in England and Wales to be published annually.

Ministers would present a report to Parliament each year detailing the nationality, visa status and asylum status of every offender convicted in English and Welsh courts in the previous 12 months. Such a move would mirror an approach by some US states and Denmark, where the crime rates of those from Kuwait, Tunisia, Lebanon and Somalia are eight times those of Danish nationals.

The plan, set out in an amendment to the Government’s Criminal Justice Bill, would enable the Home Office to toughen visa and deportation policies for nationalities linked to higher rates of crime. It is understood that the Government’s main concern is regarding the practicality of implementing the plan, as ministers have no ideological objections to it. A government source said: “We will certainly look properly at this amendment and engage with colleagues in the usual way.”

The plan has been put forward by Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister, and has been backed by more than a dozen Tory MPs including Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, on the Right of the party and Sir Robert Buckland, the former justice secretary, on the centre-Left.

Mr Jenrick said: “We cannot hope to fix our immigration system without understanding the problem. The national debate on legal and illegal migration is hindered by a lack of data on the fiscal, economic and societal impacts of migration.

“There is mounting concern that the UK is importing crime, particularly violent crime, sexual assaults and drug production. We need to have transparency so the public knows what’s happening and policy can be formulated accordingly.”

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, is fighting to get a grip on illegal and legal migration following his pledge to stop the boats. Polls show that dissatisfaction with the Government’s immigration policies is at its highest level since Brexit, with the Conservatives shedding support to the Reform party on the issue.

Backers of the league table plan believe it will help the Government strengthen immigration policy on three fronts. First, they said it would allow the Home Office to tighten screening of visas from countries with nationals linked to higher crime rates in the UK. A similar approach could be taken to asylum applications. They also say it would enable the Home Office to focus deportations

‘There is mounting concern that the UK is importing crime, particularly violent crime’

and returns agreements on those countries.

Sir Robert said Denmark and the UK had a similar approach to tackling immigration, as both countries had developed proposals to process asylum claims of migrants in Rwanda.

“The Danes think similarly to us. They were the ones looking at thirdcountry processing agreements. I don’t think anyone can suggest they are not compliant with international laws yet they are rightly adopting a robust and fair approach,” he said.

Among MPs backing the plan are former ministers Andrea Jenkyns, Sir Simon Clarke, Neil O’Brien, Jonathan Djanogly, Sir Desmond Swayne, Sarah Dines, Sir James Duddridge, Heather Wheeler and Caroline Johnson.