𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Foreign killers and rapists are being released into the community because Labour is struggling to deport illegal migrants.

Labour’s disastrous one-in-one-out deal with Paris has contributed to a shortage of immigration detention spaces, Border Force insiders have said.

And this has led to more foreign criminals being released into the community on immigration bail, they claim, leaving families “less safe”.

But the Home Office has strenuously disputed this, stating that decisions on bailing foreign offenders are not based on detention space.

They say such criminals released from prison can only be lawfully detained under immigration powers if there is a realistic prospect of their removal within a reasonable timeframe.

Some 2,152 people – including failed asylum seekers and foreign criminals – were in removal centres on June 30. This is the highest number since 2019, but down dramatically from the 3,462 in 2014.

Small boat arrivals earmarked for removal to France – under Operation Hillmore – are being held in the Home Office’s immigration detention estate.

But watchdog inspectors have warned they are being kept for longer than other cohorts, fuelling a shortage of beds as the Government tries to ramp up removals.

And French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has suggested Paris does not want to continue with the scheme after the trial period finishes on October 1.

A Border Force insider told the Express: “It will certainly come as a relief to Immigration Enforcement.

“We are blocking most of the detention space available for the Home Office, which means that they are not able to arrest and detain people when they find illegal immigrants living in the country.

“We’ve had to release a lot of foreign national offenders and release them back into the community because we haven’t got the detention space for them.”

They added: “We do our best to hold people where we possibly can – where there is a significant threat, where they are a threat to national security.

“But you’ve got everything from fare dodging through to manslaughter, rape, murder.”

A scathing report by the Independent Monitoring Boards – who monitor conditions in custody suites – warned migrants earmarked for removal to France are being held for longer than other cohorts.

Some are being detained so that the Home Office can fill deportation flights, it suggested.

Inspectors told new Border Security Minister Anna Turley: “Stays in detention under this pilot scheme have been unduly lengthy, despite numerous individuals ultimately being bailed or given unconditional release.

“Whilst the average was 54 days, which is already higher than national averages for those not detained under Operation Hillmore, by late February, 79 men at Gatwick under Operation Hillmore had been detained for over 60 days, and one man had spent over 27 weeks in detention.

“Boards are concerned that more individuals are coming into detention under the Operation than are going out.

“Explanations provided by the Home Office suggest that a sizeable number of people are being kept in detention for operational convenience, in order for there to be enough individuals readily available for return to France: on a weekly basis they ‘need to have 150 coming into detention to manage attrition and legal challenge’ by making sure there are ‘sufficient people in detention’ for the UK – France Agreement.”

Ms Turley pushed back, telling the IMB last week: “Individuals are not detained for operational convenience.

“Published Home Office detention policy is clear that detention for the purpose of removal must only ever be used where there is a realistic prospect of removal within a reasonable timeframe.

“Officials work to ensure that detention is for the shortest period necessary while removal to France is progressed.”

Some 1,400 migrants have been removed to France since the one-in-one-out deal came into force in August 2025.

But Home Office figures show 21,294 convicted crooks are living in the community because they have not been deported.

This is up by more than 1,000 in the past three months alone, with officials blaming the Government’s changes to sentencing rules. Ministers introduced a “presumption” against sentences of under 12 months and tweaked deportation rules in a bid to boot out foreign criminals given a suspended sentence of 12 months or more.

But critics fear it is “just making more people eligible for return who aren’t going to leave”. It has nearly doubled from 10,373 in the final three months of 2020.

And Home Office records show 82 convicted killers and 233 rapists left immigration detention facilities in the year to June. But the Government will not say how many of these were released on bail or how many had been deported.

In total, 8,507 foreign national offenders left immigration detention last year, Home Office records show. Some will have been deported, but others will have been released on bail.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This shows that the Government’s absurd one-in-one-out gimmick actually made the UK less safe.

“They only ever sent 3% of illegal immigrants crossing the Channel back to France under their deal, which is no deterrent at all and obviously made no difference whatsoever.

“Now it turns out that this pointless gimmick took up space in removal detention centres meaning dangerous criminals couldn’t be deported from the UK.

“Instead these foreign criminals got to stay here and endanger the public.”

Former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel told the Sunday Express: “Labour has failed to treat this issue with the urgency and seriousness needed to keep the British public safe.

“We need more detention facilities across the country which I worked to bring in and MPs campaigned against.

“Until Labour creates more detention space and enacts all the vital measures to detain foreign national offenders no one will take this government seriously when it comes to removing those criminals and keeping the public safe.”

A Home Office spokesperson: “This is not accurate. Any foreign national offender lawfully detained will always take priority for detention space.

“We will do everything possible to deport foreign national offenders and have removed nearly 12,000 since the last election, an increase of around 40%.”