Foreign criminals should be deported immediately or after serving just a fraction of their sentences to free up space in jails, a Labour review will urge this week..
An existing ‘early removal scheme’ which allows foreign national offenders to be deported after serving 50 per cent of their sentence should be brought forward to the 30 per cent point, the official report will recommend.
Combined with the effects of an additional early release scheme launched by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood last year, it means some foreign prisoners would serve just 12 per cent of the sentence handed down by the courts.
The review, led by for Labour by former Tory justice secretary David Gauke, will also say foreign offenders handed less than three years in jail should be subject to immediate deportation.
His recommendations, which are likely to be adopted by ministers, would save the taxpayer a multi-million pound annual bill for imprisoning foreign nationals, and create more headroom in overcrowded jails.
