Nearly 7,000 foreign criminals still in UK five years after they should have been deported, figures show

Almost 7,000 foreign criminals who should have been deported are still living in the UK more than five years after their prison sentences ended, according to Freedom of Information figures obtained by The Sun.

The FOI response puts the figure at 6,945 foreign national offenders subject to deportation still in Britain half a decade after their custodial sentence ended — double the 3,460 recorded in 2022. A further 5,002 remain in the community between two and five years after leaving prison, and another 5,433 are back on the streets within two years of release. The paper also reports Home Office data showing 21,294 offenders still in the UK despite facing deportation in June 2026 — more than three times the 5,928 figure from June 2016.

Under current rules, non-British and non-Irish citizens sentenced to at least 12 months in the UK are subject to automatic deportation, but many appeal on Article 8 grounds — the right to family life under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Foreign criminals living in our communities should be deported… The public are furious that we cannot deport those with no right to be here, and they are right to be furious,” adding that a future Conservative government would leave the ECHR to “rapidly remove foreign criminals”.

A government spokesperson said more than 11,700 foreign criminals, including murderers and rapists, had been removed since the last election, adding that any foreign national receiving a prison sentence is referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity and barred from ever returning.

Sources

• The Sun: Thousands of foreign criminals remain in the UK five years after they should have been deported — thesun.co.uk