Revealed: Shocking cost of 10,000 foreign crooks languishing in UK jails

A record number of foreign thugs, thieves and sex offenders are costing taxpayers more than £360million a year, shocking new analysis has revealed. Some 10,772 overseas nationals are languishing in overcrowded jails.

This includes 6,673 criminals serving sentences and 3,781 people on remand. Almost half of foreign prisoners have been locked up for violent and sexual crimes, analysis of Ministry of Justice figures has revealed. The MoJ has, for the first time, confirmed 2,083 foreign thugs are behind bars for violent offences. Another 1,159 are on remand.

Meanwhile, 1,731 sex offenders have been locked up, including 1,382 convicted rapists, predators and perverts. The rest are also on remand.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: "We are spending £360million a year sheltering foreign rapists, traffickers, and gang enforcers in our prisons.

"Every pound spent housing a foreign criminal is a pound that could have been spent on police, schools, or fixing that crater on your road.

"Labour's refusal to act has turned our prison system into a sanctuary for foreign offenders and taxpayers are footing the bill. Our plan will change that - we will deport them."

Foreign nationals account for one in eight prisoners in England and Wales.

Each one is costing taxpayers an estimated £54,000 a year.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood sparked outrage when she confirmed convicts will be released after serving just 40% of their sentences.

The statistics, published by the MoJ, show 3,786 walked free in September under the "SDS40" scheme, 5,369 in October, 3,492 in November and 3,584 in December.

The controversial move reignited the debate over foreign national offenders in prisons.

Shadow Home Office minister Katie Lam said: "These are serious offenders convicted of violence, sexual crimes, and organised drug offences.

"The public expects foreign criminals to be removed, it's basic common sense. But Labour has chosen to obstruct removals at every turn, forcing the country to absorb the cost and the risk of keeping these dangerous individuals in our country.

"Our prisons are already at breaking point. We cannot build a credible justice system while paying to house offenders who should be deported. We must remove those who have come to our country and brazenly broken our laws."

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."

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

Romanian nationals behind bars are costing £38.5million, Irish nationals £38million, Lithuanians £18.2million, Jamaicans £18.1million, Indians £17.2million, Pakistanis £17million, Portuguese nationals £15.9million, and Iraqis £15.4million.

The alarming figures will intensify calls to ramp up the deportations of foreign 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."

A record 950 foreign nationals are 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.

Ministry of Justice figures show 3,250 foreigners are in custody for violent offences.

This is up from 2,988 last year and a near 50% increase from 2,143 in June 2015.

The number in custody for sexual offences has also soared from 1,367 ten years ago to 1,731 in the year to June.

It comes as Labour is facing fresh criticism for being soft on crime.

Separate figures published by the Ministry of Justice on Thursday revealed more than 16,000 prisoners have been let out under the Government's early release scheme.

Reform UK's Sarah Pochin told the Daily Express: "The Labour Government have released 16,000 convicted criminals onto our streets early in order to free up prison places, with no regard to the safety of its citizens.

"This is a knee-jerk reaction to a problem they've known was coming. Empty our prisons today of the 10,000 foreign national offenders by sending them home and there's your answer."

David Spencer, head of crime and justice, Policy Exchange, said: "That 16,231 convicted criminals were released early from prison in only three months under the Government's new 'SDS40' scheme is the sort of decision which causes deep public revulsion amongst the law-abiding majority.

"These numbers back up the case made by Policy Exchange earlier this year that we need to build an additional 43,000 prison cells and that early release from prison must be earned rather than be automatic."

Labour has vowed to speed up the number of foreign criminals being deported.

Changes to the Early Removal Scheme will mean prisoners with no right to be in the country will face deportation 30% into their prison term rather than the current 50%.

Combined with upcoming sentencing reforms, this could see many serving fixed-term sentences eligible for deportation after serving 10%, down from 20 or 25% currently.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "This Government is deporting foreign national offenders at pace, with more than 5,000 deported last year.

"As part of our mission to make our streets safe and the Plan for Change, we are going further by changing the law so foreign prisoners can be deported earlier than ever before."