Britain admits freeing 1,000 criminals in deportation debacle
In a major embarrassment to the government of British Prime Minister Tony Blair ahead of local elections next week, the Home Office said it had no idea where the vast majority of the 1,023 convicted criminals were.
They were released over the past seven years and only a handful of them had been traced.
“I think it is a shocking state of affairs,” Home Secretary Charles Clarke said. “The concern, possibly anger, that people will feel is entirely understandable.”
The revelation will come as a severe blow to Mr Blair’s government, which says it is tackling crime and has pledged to deport foreigners it regards as a threat to national security.
It is likely to play into the hands of the opposition Conservative Party as well as the fringe far-right British National Party (BNP), campaigning on an anti-immigration ticket for the vote on Thursday next week.
The BNP is expected to make gains in the ballot, the first electoral test for Mr Blair since he won a third term in office.
The prime minister’s standing appears to be on the wane. A poll published on Monday showed support for his Labour party has slipped to a 19-year low and Mr Blair himself has said he will not seek a fourth term.
The 1,023 prisoners had all served their terms and were entitled to release, but should have been considered for deportation before they were freed.
Around 160 of them were subject to specific orders from British courts which recommended their removal from Britain.
Mr Clarke did not say exactly how the oversight had come about and why it had gone on so long but acknowledged the prison service and immigration authorities were both at fault.
However, even though both bodies come under his jurisdiction, he refused to quit his job.
“I think one should be candid with failure [but] I don’t intend to resign on this matter,” he said.
The prisoners included three murderers, two found guilty of manslaughter, nine rapists, and 12 sex offenders including five paedophiles. Others were jailed for kidnapping, assault and drug and immigration offences.
The Home Office said it did not know how many, if any, of the prisoners had re-offended since their release.
Britain’s prison system has been under increasing strain in recent years as prisoner numbers climb. The Home Office says the number of foreign nationals in the country’s jails had risen from 4,200 in 1996 to over 10,200 now.
