Clarke 'deeply regrets' releasing 1,000 foreign prisoners
1,000 foreign prisoners released when they should have been deported
Tuesday, 25, Apr 2006 12:00
More than 1,000 foreign criminals who should have been deported have been released from jail into the community, the home secretary has admitted.
Charles Clarke said the release of 1,023 foreign nationals, including three murderers and nine rapists, over the last seven years was "deeply regrettable" but action was being taken to change the system.
He said he could not say "hand on heart" that they would all be tracked down, but said "we are working on that very energetically". Reports suggest 107 have so far been located, of whom 20 have been deported.
"It is clear that there has been a failure on our part to deal with all the cases we should have," Mr Clarke said in a written statement to the House of Commons today.
"That failure has been identified in part due to the strengthening of the system for identifying foreign national prisoners and there is now a package of initiatives underway to strengthen this area of business."
The foreign prison population at the end of February this year was more than 10,000, up from 4,200 ten years ago, and Mr Clarke admitted that arrangements for identifying them and considering their removal from Britain "have not kept pace with that growth".
All serious offenders should be considered for deportation before release – if that is not possible, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) should at least make a decision whether to apply to have them tagged or given restriction orders.
"However, it is clear that the increasing numbers of cases being referred for consideration led to the process falling down," Mr Clarke said.
Shadow home secretary David Davis said the news was an "astonishing" revelation which, on the back of recent reports about criminals being released from jail early to go on to commit other crimes, showed "serial incompetence".
"How many more times must we put up with the Home Office's abject failure to protect the public, and how many more times will they seek to duck responsibility for the issue?" he asked.
Mr Davis also asked why Mr Clarke had not informed the House of Commons about the revelation in person, rather than issuing a written statement and a press briefing, and called for him to urgently come to the chamber to explain himself.
Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell described the revelation as "extraordinary", saying: "All the government's tough talk on crime counts for nothing in the face of this incompetence.
"What possible excuse can there be for this disgraceful state of affairs?"
Among the offenders released are thought to include five convicted for sex offences on children, seven for other sex offences, 57 violent offenders, two people convicted for manslaughter, 41 burglars, 20 drug importers and 54 people jailed for assault.
In his statement, however, the home secretary identifies "significant improvements" being made to the system of handling foreign prisoners, including increasing IND's caseworking capacity so they can start deportation procedures a year before release.