Foreign criminals will be deported from the United Kingdom immediately after sentencing under new government plans, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced.
The proposal would reduce the current threshold, introduced in June, which allows deportation when a prisoner has served 30% of their sentence. The change, which requires parliamentary approval, would see offenders removed as soon as their sentence is passed.
The measure applies to offenders serving fixed-term determinate sentences. Officials would retain powers to prevent deportation in specific cases, such as when an offender poses an ongoing security threat or is suspected of planning further crimes in the UK.
Mahmood said the move would reduce the cost to taxpayers, with each prison place estimated to cost around £54,000 a year. Foreign nationals currently make up about 12% of the prison population.
“Our message is clear if you abuse our hospitality and break our laws, we will send you packing,” she said. “Deportations are up under this government, and with this new law they will happen earlier than ever.”
According to government data, almost 5,200 foreign offenders have been deported since July 2024, a 14% increase on the previous 12 months.
The Labour government’s approach differs from its Conservative predecessors, who relied on prisoner transfer agreements to allow inmates to serve sentences in their home countries. Between 2010 and 2023, 945 prisoners were transferred abroad under such arrangements.
Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick criticised the plan, saying it failed to address what he called “broken human rights laws” that he argued hinder deportations. “The safety of the British public is infinitely more important than the ‘rights’ of sick foreign criminals,” he said.
Jenrick added that if countries refused to take back their nationals, the UK should suspend visas and foreign aid.
The changes are part of wider measures to address prison overcrowding, with the male estate operating at close to full capacity. The government expects to introduce the legislation to parliament in the coming months.
