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Record year for removing foreign national prisoners

HOME OFFICE News Release (201/2007) issued by The Government News Network on 26 December 2007

Over 4,000 foreign national prisoners have been removed or deported from the UK in 2007 exceeding the Prime Minister's target.

The Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) has removed over 50 per cent more foreign national prisoners than in 2006 after a shift in gear saw the agency target foreign criminals for removal. The 4,000 includes more than 20 killers, more than 200 sex offenders and more than 1,100 drug offenders.

In 2007 the BIA removed more than 45,000 people in the first three quarters of the year - that is one every eight and a half minutes - including failed asylum seekers, foreign national prisoners and other immigration offenders, such as illegal workers.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said:

"Foreign law breakers should be first in line for the first plane out of Britain. We promised to remove 4,000 foreign national prisoners this year and we meant it.

"People in Britain want to see changes to our immigration system and in 2008 we'll see them. It's the biggest shake up for 40 years."

Over the next 12 months sweeping reforms to the immigration system will mean:

* the introduction of an Australian-style points-based system ensuring that only those benefiting Britain come to the UK to work or study;
* the rollout of electronic passenger screening to count people in and out of the country and check passenger information against watch lists before people even arrive on UK shores, protecting the UK border;
* checking the fingerprint of every single visa applicant in 2008; and
* introducing compulsory ID cards to all foreign nationals in the UK for more than six months to stop illegal access to jobs and benefits.

Notes to editors

1. The Prime Minister committed the Government to remove 4,000 foreign national prisoners in July 2007.

2. The electronic borders contract was awarded on 14 November 2007 (press notice: 178-07).

3. In the strategy document 'Securing the UK Border' published in March 2007 the Government committed to looking at how it can modernise the system for those who visit the UK for tourism, business or to visit family, whilst ensuring the system is robust against abuse. 'Securing the UK Border can be found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/securing-the-border?view=Binary

4. Biometrics lock visa applicants into an identity at the earliest possible point in their journey. On application for a visa, biometrics are checked against immigration databases to identify if a prospective traveller has already been fingerprinted by the Border and Immigration Agency, in what identity and for what reason. Similarly those arriving in the UK undocumented, or making applications for asylum, can be traced back to any previous visa application they might have made.

5. The points based system will begin implementation in 2008, starting with highly skilled, post-study workers and entrepreneurs. The statement of intent is available at: http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/aboutus/tier1statementofintent.pdf