𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Foreign criminals are costing taxpayers almost £600 million a year, analysis has revealed.

New Ministry of Justice figures show 10,772 offenders from overseas are locked up in England and Wales.

Albanian criminals alone cost taxpayers more than £64m, while the bill for Polish lags is more than £40m.

A prison population of just 339 Lithuanians costs £18.2m, while 338 Jamaicans costs £18.1m.

The alarming figures will intensify calls to ramp up the deportations of foreign nationals, with each criminal costing around £54,000 a year.

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Instead of releasing criminals early to free up prison space, the Government must deport every single one of these foreign offenders.

“They need to be kicked out of the country immediately. Starmer must suspend visas and aid until countries take back their nationals.”

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “It’s a national betrayal to demand that British taxpayers foot such a huge bill to provide bed and board to foreign criminals.

“With each inmate costing nearly £54,000 a year, it’s high time the government stopped sheltering these vile offenders who, after committing crimes, should have no right to be here.

“Foreign offenders should be deported to their countries of origin, not left to leech off the wallets of law-abiding families.”

Almost half of foreign prisoners have been locked up for violent and sexual crimes, Ministry of Justice analysis has revealed.

The MoJ has also, for the first time, confirmed 3,250 foreign national offenders are behind bars for violent offences.

This has surged 51.66% from 2,143, MoJ records show.

And the number of foreign sex offenders has rocketed from 1,367 to 1,731 in the past 10 years.

In total, 10,772 overseas offenders are behind bars.

A record 950 foreign nationals are also serving life sentences, analysis shows, up from 927 last year.

A decade ago, less than 800 foreign offenders were locked up for life.

More than half of offenders are serving sentences of longer than a year, including 4,089 for more than four years.

Almost one in four FNOs were sentenced to more than 10 years behind bars.

The Ministry of Justice in June said prisoners “with no right to be in the country” will face deportation after serving 30% of their sentence, rather than the current 50%, as part of a revamp of laws.

And with tens of thousands of offenders set to be let out after serving just a third of their sentence, officials believe “many” will be eligible to be sent home after serving 10%.

A Labour source said: “The Tories might talk tough on deportations, but they didn’t deliver. Deportations are up under this Labour Government, and we are changing the law so we can deport foreign criminals far quicker than the Tories ever did.

“We’re not squeamish about this. If you don’t play by our rules, you have to go.”