More foreign convicts win right to stay: After all PM's pledges to kick out criminals number avoiding deportation rose by 50% last year

Total of 1,310 overseas convicts considered for removal were not sent home

Number includes 15 murderers, 15 rapists and 20 guilty of child sex offences

Foreign convicts now avoiding deportation in one in three cases

Many criminals cite their human right to a family life in the UK

MPs say revelations show Britain's border controls are 'rotting away'



Pledge: The Prime Minister has made a string of pledges to kick out more foreign criminals, but overseas convicts are now avoiding deportation in one in three cases - a sharp increase on previous years

The number of foreign criminals avoiding deportation rose by 50 per cent last year – despite repeated Government pledges to kick them out.

In total, 1,310 overseas convicts considered for removal were not sent home, up from 890.

Offenders not thrown out after serving their sentences included 15 murderers, five people guilty of manslaughter, 15 rapists, 140 robbers and 20 guilty of sex offences against children.

Foreign convicts are now avoiding deportation in one in three cases – a sharp increase on previous years.

In many instances, the criminals won the right to stay after lodging appeals, citing their human right to a family life in the UK, or other legal objections.

Last night, MPs said the revelations showed Britain’s border controls were ‘rotting away’.

They also heaped fresh pressure on the Conservatives to spell out exactly how they plan to unpick the harm being caused by Labour’s Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Yesterday, a case emerged showing how Article 8, the right to family life, is being used by criminals to get into Britain, as well as avoid removal. A double murderer from Bangladesh successfully claimed the right to move to the UK because his family already lives here.

The Prime Minister has made a string of pledges to kick out more foreign criminals.



Only last month, David Cameron said: ‘I can think of few things more infuriating than seeing people who have caused harm in our country … launch appeal after appeal to stay, with the line that they have a “right to a family life” – never mind the families whose lives they have shattered.’

If the Home Office decides it cannot deport a foreign criminal after their jail term, they are released on to Britain’s streets.



Criticism: Last night, MPs said the revelations showed Britain's border controls were 'rotting away', and heaped fresh pressure on the Conservatives to spell out exactly how they plan to unpick the harm being caused by Labour's Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights

Under Freedom of Information laws, officials have admitted that of 4,030 overseas convicts considered for deportation in 2012/13, 1,310 were not sent home – 32.5 per cent. In the previous year, 890 avoided removal, out of 3,380 cases – 26 per cent.



Before the Coalition came to power, in 2009/10 only 22 per cent were allowed to stay. Since 2009/10, 3,700 of 14,380 foreign criminals considered for removal have not been sent home. The figures exclude Scotland.

Officials are obliged to consider deporting foreigners sentenced to lengthy jail terms in the UK.



'Safe haven': Tory MP Dominic Raab is trying to force the Home Office to reveal how many cases are related to Article 8

The Home Office sometimes drops the case after deciding there are too many legal barriers, such as the criminal originating from an unsafe country or having his family in Britain. In other instances, the offender will lodge a successful appeal.

Officials do not break down reasons for successful cases, but a large number are brought on human rights grounds, with criminals claiming they face mistreatment at home, or citing the right to a family life.

Tory MP Dominic Raab is trying to force the Home Office to reveal how many cases are related to Article 8. Last night, he said such claims were making Britain a ‘safe haven for the most dangerous foreign criminals’.



‘The growth in legal excuses for not deporting criminals … is rotting away our border controls – and only a majority Conservative government will get rid of it,’ he added.

In 2011, ministers ordered judges to pay less attention to a criminal’s Article 8 rights – but the move was largely ignored.



It has prompted Home Secretary Theresa May to make further changes to the law in a new Immigration Act, including a ‘deport first, appeal later’ policy. Exceptions will be made if the criminal is at serious risk of harm at home. Tory MP Philip Hollobone called for Labour’s Human Rights Act to be ‘done away with’.



He added: ‘What these figures reveal … is that, because of the Human Rights Act, the ability of the British Government to deport undesirables is actually getting less … This underlines the need for a new government …[to] get control of our borders once again.’



Peter Cuthbertson, of the Centre for Crime Prevention, said overseas criminals would be ‘right to think coming here is a no-brainer given the … feebleness of our sentencing’.

Home Office officials said removal efforts may be ongoing in some cases. A spokesman said: ‘The recently passed Immigration Act makes it easier to remove people … and harder for individuals to prolong their stay … by cutting the number of appeal rights from 17 to four.’