The UK is set to deport foreign criminals<\/a> to free up prison space<\/a> in the government<\/a>\u2019s latest immigration crackdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n Justice secretary<\/a> Shabana Mahmood vowed the offenders will be sent \u201cpacking\u201d immediately when they receive a custodial sentence.<\/p>\n The proposed law change<\/a> \u2013 which could save taxpayers an average of \u00a354,000 per year, per prison place \u2013 would apply to prisoners<\/a> serving fixed-term \u201cdeterminate\u201d sentences. Authorities would also retain their power not to deport a criminal but instead keep them in custody, for example, if the offender was planning further crimes against the UK\u2019s interests or national security.<\/p>\n \u201cOur message is clear,\u201d Ms Mahmood said. \u201cIf you abuse our hospitality and break our laws, we will send you packing.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cDeportations<\/a> are up under this government, and with this new law they will happen earlier than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood vowed that the offenders will be sent \u2018packing\u2019 immediately when they receive a custodial sentence (Jacob King\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n Almost 5,200 foreign national offenders have been deported since July 2024, a 14 per cent increase on the 12 months prior, according to the government.<\/p>\n The justice secretary\u2019s announcement follows a tweak in the law in June – expected to come into force in September – which will see prisoners face deportation 30 per cent into their prison sentence rather than the current 50 per cent.<\/p>\n The government will need parliament to greenlight its proposal to bring this down to 0 per cent.<\/p>\n According to a Labour<\/a> source, the previous Conservative government relied on prison transfer agreements with other countries to deport foreign national offenders, in deals which allow inmates to serve their custodial sentence in their \u201chome\u201d country.<\/p>\n This saw 945 prisoners sent to jails abroad between 2010 and 2023, equal to less than one-and-a-half criminals per week.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n A protester holding an English flag in front of a line of police officers outside the Bell Hotel in Epping last month (PA Wire)<\/p>\n Foreign national offenders make up around 12 per cent of the prison population.<\/p>\n Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said: \u201cIn Starmer\u2019s topsy-turvy world investors are fleeing the country in their droves while record numbers of violent and sexual offenders from abroad are put up in our prisons. It\u2019s a farce.<\/p>\n \u201cYet again Starmer has refused to confront our broken human rights laws. He needs to grow a backbone and change them so we can actually deport these individuals. The safety of the British public is infinitely more important than the \u2018rights\u2019 of sick foreign criminals.<\/p>\n \u201cIf countries won\u2019t take back their nationals, Starmer should suspend visas and foreign aid. His soft-touch approach isn\u2019t working.\u201d<\/p>\n The prison population currently stands at 88,007, just 514 below the record high of 88,521, which was reached on 6 September last year.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Keir Starmer\u2019s government has vowed to create 14,000 new prison places by 2031 (PA Wire)<\/p>\n The government has vowed to create 14,000 new prison places by 2031. Ms Mahmood has also accepted a string of recommendations following a major report by David Gauke, which will see some offenders serve less of their sentence in custody in sweeping reforms expected to ease pressure on prisons.<\/p>\n The proposed law change comes amid the government\u2019s wider crackdown on immigration. Labour has put a pledge to tackle the number of people coming to the UK on small boats at the centre of its plan for government.<\/p>\n Last week, figures showed that the number of migrants<\/a> arriving in the UK after crossing the English Channel topped 25,000 \u2013 the earliest point in a calendar year at which the 25,000 mark has been passed since data on Channel crossings was first reported in 2018.<\/p>\n With boat crossings at a record high, and the asylum backlog still above 75,000, there is mounting pressure on ministers to take more drastic action \u2013 pressure which is exacerbated by the success of Reform<\/a> UK in the polls.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Hundreds of inmates were let out early last year as part of attempts to ease overcrowding in prisons (PA)<\/p>\n![\"Justice](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/01K17WX6GBH41WG5SR2NC3YC1F.jpeg\")
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