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Labour’s plan to release thousands of criminals early and scrap jury trials ignores “the huge pressures” created by migrant crime, ministers have been warned.

New figures have revealed almost 10,000 foreign offenders have been sent back to their home countries under new rules making it easier to deport criminals from overseas.

But a leading defence solicitor has warned the statistics “pale in comparison to the amount of crime being committed by foreign criminals in Britain”.

Marcus Johnstone said rapidly deporting foreign national offenders would “go a long way” to easing the overcrowding crisis behind bars.

The Home Office does not compile national statistics on the number of crimes being committed by migrants.

Around 10,400 FNOs are currently in prison in England and Wales – 12% of the total population behind bars.

Marcus Johnstone, Managing Director of PCD Solicitors, said: “It is correct that ministers focus on the deportation of foreign offenders, but I am afraid today’s statistics pale in comparison to the amount of crime being committed by foreign criminals in Britain.

“As a criminal defence solicitor specialising in sexual offences, I can attest to the sheer scale of the problem.

“Every week, my firm receives a great many enquiries from foreign individuals accused of serious sexual crimes, including rape and sexual assault.

“Such is the scale of this problem that the taxpayer is now footing over £150,000 a day for translators in our courts – not to mention similar services in police stations, and the huge sums being claimed by foreign nationals through the legal aid system.

“The current situation is politically and financially unsustainable.

“The government is planning wholescale justice reform that will scale-back the right to trial by jury, and release thousands of dangerous offenders from prison early.

“These measures are ostensibly designed to alleviate chronic and disruptive backlogs in the criminal justice system, but simply fail to account for the huge pressures that are created by illegal immigration and foreign criminals.

“The most recent data indicates that there are just under 11,000 foreign nationals in British prisons, and a 14,000 shortfall in prison places.

“If this government were truly concerned about repairing the system, then the speedier and upscaled removal of foreign criminals would go a long way to easing backlogs and making justice more efficient.”

Foreign criminals sentenced to at least 12 months behind bars are automatically served with deportation orders after being locked up.

New laws introduced by Labour will see some inmates deported as soon as they are convicted. Under current rules, they can be removed after serving just 30 per cent of their sentence.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: “We know that foreign nationals are 71% more likely than the average British person to be found guilty of a sex crime and some nationalities present an even bigger risk. Yet still the Government won’t publish crime data by nationality and immigration status.

With nearly 11,000 foreigners in our prisons, an acute shortage of capacity and offenders being let out early, it’s vital that every foreign criminal is deported – regardless of any so-called ‘human rights’ laws.

Data retrieved by freedom of information request and reports from solicitors’ firms suggest the true scale of foreign national offending, especially sexual crimes. We need complete transparency from Labour and for every foreign criminal to leave.”

Labour wants to axe half of jury trials.

Some sexual assault, burglary, drug dealing and robbery cases will be heard by a single judge.

The Ministry of Justice will scrap the right of defendants to “elect” a jury trial for so-called “either way offences”.

Judges will assess a case, and if it is “likely” to result in a three-year prison sentence or less, it will be heard by either a magistrate or the new Crown Court Bench Division.

And they will apply to suspects already charged with crimes.

Labour has also sparked fury by confirming tens of thousands of criminals will avoid jail altogether each year, while many convicts will be out after spending just a third of their jail term in prison.

And those sentenced to four years or more will only be let out after serving 50% of their sentence behind bars.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has vowed to ramp up the deportations of foreign criminals – including to Syria and Afghanistan.

And he vowed to ramp up calls for return hubs.

Mr Dobrindt said: “These [hubs] are intended to show that making your way to Germany is not necessarily linked to the possibility of staying if the country of origin does not cooperate with us”.

He wants to conclude talks on potential return hubs “by the end of the year”.

Labour has vowed to use return hubs for foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers.

But the Home Office has made little progress in recent months.