Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Britain tripled the number of countries whose citizens face being deported immediately upon having their asylum claim denied or being convicted of a crime as part of a so-called "Deport Now Appeal Later" scheme designed to prevent foreigners from using the legal system to remain in the country.
An additional 15 countries, including Canada, Australia, India and Bulgaria, were being added to the existing eight whose nationals could now be returned before being able to appeal, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a news release Sunday.
They said expanding the scheme, which applies in England and Wales only, would ease pressure on the detention system and prison overcrowding by boosting the government's ability to "remove foreign criminals at the earliest opportunity."
Foreign nationals who have had their human rights claim denied will be deported to their home country, from where they can lodge an appeal, taking part in any proceeding via video-link.
Separately, the Justice Ministry unveiled a parallel scheme that will work in tandem, removing foreign national offenders immediately after sentencing, saving taxpayers the cost of holding them until the current halfway point in their sentence in British prisons before they can be deported.
