Justice Secretary David Lammy has been sacked by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, according to political commentator Tim Newark. Newark writes that Lammy's final efforts were devoted to covering up the extent of foreign criminality in the UK, with the Ministry of Justice taking legal action to block a ruling by the Information Commissioner that data on foreign offending between 2018 and 2024 in England and Wales should be made public.
The MoJ claimed publishing the data would cost too much money and risk breaching privacy laws. The Information Commissioner had agreed that data should be revealed in response to a Freedom of Information request by the Centre for Migration Control for total transparency on convictions by nationality.
Shocking figures on sex offences
Figures on sexual offences that have been published show foreign nationals accounted for 23% of sex offences between 2021 and 2023, despite making up 9% of the population. Afghans and Eritreans were 20 times more likely to be convicted of sexual offences, while Romanians, Poles, Indians and Pakistanis were also high in the ranks. Overall, according to data from the Police National Computer, foreign nationals were 71% more likely to commit sex crimes than Britons.
Newark argues that such figures are not surprising when tens of thousands of young men are allowed to enter the country with little identity check. Many ditch passports and lie about their ages, names and countries of birth to claim asylum. He also cites a clash of cultures from countries where misogyny and sexual impropriety are widespread.
Government criticised for soft approach
Newark says the government would rather this information not come out, citing past outbreaks of foreign criminality such as Pakistani-heritage rape gangs. He notes that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has struggled to deport Rochdale rape gang leader Shabir Ahmed, and that prolific Albanian burglar Dorian Puka recently fed his dogs banknotes in a video taunting the failure to deport him.
The MoJ argues that publishing data costs too much, but Newark says taxpayers' money spent on accurate information on foreign criminality is good value. The MoJ also argues that too much information could identify individuals, violating their privacy rights, but the Information Commissioner considers this unlikely. Newark says ordinary Britons take a dim view of protecting the rights of people who have broken laws.
Call for action
Having sacked Lammy, Newark hopes Burnham and new Justice Secretary Alex Norris will come down hard on the MoJ's attempt to block publication. He notes that more than 10,000 foreign nationals are currently in UK prisons, while a further 20,000 have avoided deportation and are living freely. He asks how many more criminals who arrived in small boats are walking freely among us.
