Exclusive
Violent foreign criminals 'moved out of prison early to free up cells' - and into immigration removal centres
28 July 2023, 17:48 | Updated: 28 July 2023, 21:07
Dangerous foreign criminals, including sexual offenders, are being moved out of prison early to free up cells, LBC has been told.
Two senior sources have told LBC they’re being transferred to Immigration Removal Centres, where rules are more relaxed than in jails, where detainees have free reign of the estate.
Whistleblowers have raised the alarm saying the offenders will not be confined to cells, and could be kept near to families. They could also have the ability to contact family and friends.
We understand transfers have already begun to sites near to Heathrow Airport and in Bath.
The government has confirmed it plans to deport these individuals, but there are concerns about the length of time they’ll spend in immigration centres before being sent home, or whether they will indeed be returned at all.
The Ministry of Justice says this is normal policy if they have finished their sentence, but two sources close to the prison estate have told LBC they’re concerned the offenders are being released from their cells prematurely, whilst part way through their sentence.
One source also claims FNOs have previously attacked staff in immigration centres, because of a “perverse” desire to be returned to the prison estate and remain in the UK for longer.
LBC understands the transfer of foreign criminals is happening because there’s a push from ministers to free up space in prisons.
The latest figures released today show that there are just 971 spaces available in prisons just now, partly because of backlogs in the courts and partly because of the increasing numbers serving both longer and short sentences.
But we’re told the number of foreign national offenders who have completed their sentence is in the low hundreds – a handful of people in each prison.
We know some areas have already made use of a scheme called ‘Operation Safeguard’ where police cells are used as overflow when prisons are at capacity.
Sources say if scheme is about clearing that backlog, as the Ministry of Justice has suggested, then ministers will be lucky if that buys them a week – at most.
And if, as our sources have told us, some offenders are moved in the middle of their sentence, then that’s where these concerns come into play.
A Government spokesperson said: "We continue to deport more foreign national offenders back to their home countries and those who move to an Immigration Removal Centre in the process face robust risk assessments.
"No-one is moved before the end of their sentence unless they are being deported.”
Steve Reed, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, said: “Britain’s streets are less safe with the Conservatives. They’ve run prisons into the ground – giving foreign criminals an easy ride.
“The first duty of government is to keep people safe, but this news will chip away the public’s confidence and erode any last drips of belief that the Tories are the party of law and order.”
