By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-01-09 12:19:42 | Updated at 2025-01-09 22:09:36
9 hours ago
More than 500 foreign criminals released from UK prisons have gone on to commit at least 10 new offences each while avoiding deportation, government figures reveal.
The Ministry of Justice data shows these repeat offenders are among thousands of foreign nationals who have committed fresh crimes after being freed from jail over the past four years.
Many have successfully challenged their removal from the UK using human rights laws, the European Convention on Human Rights, or pre-Brexit EU rules.
Over the four-year period, around 10,000 freed foreign offenders were responsible for approximately 40,000 crimes across the UK.
Under current law, the Home Secretary must deport any foreign criminal jailed for more than a year
GB News
Among those who reoffended after avoiding deportation was Jamaican national Ernesto Elliott, who had been jailed for knife crime before going on to murder a 35-year-old man in a knife fight in June 2021.
Another Jamaican drug dealer, Lloyd Byfield, 48, killed a young woman in her own home after avoiding deportation for a previous violent crime.
Belgian-born William George, 28, convicted of manslaughter in Manchester, successfully fought deportation using pre-Brexit EU directives.
A Zimbabwean driver who killed a man in a car crash was allowed to remain in the UK after claiming family life rights under the ECHR.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said foreign offenders who committed crimes in the UK "should expect the full force of the law and will be removed at the earliest possible opportunity".
The offences ranged from murder to knife possession, drug dealing, burglary and theft
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He highlighted that removals have increased, with 2,000 people removed since July - a 20 per cent rise compared to the same period last year.
However, deportation efforts face ongoing challenges. Qari Abdul Rauf, a Rochdale grooming gang ringleader, remains in the town where he committed his crimes despite being told he would be deported after his release nearly a decade ago.
He has avoided removal by renouncing his Pakistani citizenship.
Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe, who obtained the data from the Ministry of Justice, said: "Everyone who commits a crime should be deported. Why are we tolerating this, particularly when we see the reoffending rates are so high?"
Lowe called for greater transparency regarding crime committed by migrants, both legal and illegal.
An MoJ spokesman said: "Since July 2024, this Government has returned 14 per cent more foreign national offenders than in the same period in 2023.
"As the public would rightly expect, we're working closely with the Home Office to deport more foreign national offenders, keeping our streets safe and saving taxpayers millions."
