The Home Office has lost track of tens of thousands of foreign nationals liable to be removed from the country, and there is little evidence it is trying to find most of them, an independent inspector has found.

Nearly 56,000 foreign nationals including convicted criminals and illegal immigrants have disappeared from officials’ radar after being told they are liable to leave.

The tally of “declared absconders” includes more than 700 foreign national offenders (FNOs) who went missing after being released into the community, according to two new reviews by the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

Ministers admitted that the studies by David Bolt made for "difficult reading".

Around 80,000 foreign nationals are currently required to check in regularly at police stations or immigration centres while officials prepare for them to leave the country.