The UK government has announced plans to deport most foreign criminals immediately upon conviction, rather than after they have served 30% of their prison sentence. The proposed change in legislation, introduced by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, would allow for the removal of foreign prisoners as soon as they are incarcerated, reducing taxpayer costs associated with holding them in UK prisons.
Under the new measures, deported offenders will be barred from re-entering the UK. The rules will apply to all foreign national offenders currently in custody as well as those newly sentenced. However, foreign terrorists, murderers, and other serious offenders given indeterminate sentences will continue to serve their time in the UK before deportation is considered. Prison governors will retain the power to block deportation for fixed-term sentence prisoners deemed a serious threat to national security.
Each prison place costs the government £54,000 a year on average, and foreign offenders make up about 12% of the total prison population, according to the Ministry of Justice. The government has already passed legislation, effective from September, allowing deportation after 30% of a sentence is served, down from the current 50%. The latest proposal would reduce this to 0% for most foreign prisoners, pending parliamentary approval.
Mahmood said the government was taking “radical action” to ensure deportations happen “earlier than ever before”. She stated: “Our message is clear: if you abuse our hospitality and break our laws, we will send you packing.” The Prison Service is at nearly 97.5% capacity, having come within days of collapse on three occasions in recent months, an independent review found.
Since taking power in July 2024, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has responded to the prison crisis by allowing early release for some offenders after 40% of their sentence. The government has deported more than 5,000 foreign prisoners, a 14% annual increase, and invested £5m in a taskforce to speed up removals from nearly 80 jails. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick criticised the government, claiming “record numbers of violent and sexual offenders from abroad” are in UK prisons, and accused Starmer of failing to change “broken human rights laws” to facilitate deportations.
