𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The cost of jailing foreign criminals is enough to pay the salaries of 20,000 new nurses or 15,000 additional police officers, a new study found. UK taxpayers have spent £3.2 billion since 2019 on foreign inmates, and the figure is set to rise as numbers grow. The 10,000 non-British criminals in prison has also contributed to an overcrowding crisis, forcing the government to release inmates earlier.

A study by thank tank Onward has exposed the price of failing to deport foreigners who commit crimes in the UK. Sir Simon Clarke, the think tank’s director, said: “This report exposes the true scale of the burden on taxpayers – money that could instead be spent on frontline public services. Labour must explain why these costs have soared and what it will do to bring them down.”

Researchers looked at the cost of prosecutions, court time and prison costs. They found a record £643 million was spent in the 2024-25 financial year, up by around 50% since 2019.

But criminals are avoiding deportation by using Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to respect for family life

The Government released 38,000 prisoners early between September 2024 and June 2025, in an attempt to stave off an overcrowding crisis. But more early releases will be needed unless prisoner numbers can be brought down – with the prison population on course to exceed total capacity by November 2027 on current trends.

Highlighting a public backlash to prisoner releases last year, the report said: “Future scenes similar to August 2024 of released prisoners celebrating in the local area near the prison could create significant tension in communities.”

Onward called on the Government to stop prisoners using the European Convention to avoid deportation, a measure pledged by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood as part of the wide-ranging immigration plan announced yesterday.

It also urged the Government to deport people guilty of lower-level crimes immediately rather than jailing them, and to expand a “deport now, appeal later” policy so that offenders are shipped overseas before launching any legal battle.