One foreign murderer a week deported as Labour hails removal of nearly 10,000 criminals

New figures have revealed one foreign murderer a week has been deported, with 10,000 foreign offenders sent back to their home countries since Labour came to power.

According to the Home Office, 800 thieves and 600 sexual offenders have been removed from the UK in the past year.

The figures also showed 600 violent criminals, 200 fraudsters and 2,300 drug offenders were removed in the past year, representing a 36 per cent rise on the previous 21 months.

Albanian, Romanian, Polish and Lithuanian were identified as the leading nationalities represented in the statistics.

The majority of those convicted of murder deported were Romanians, with 21 sent back in the year to March.

According to the official figures, 14 Poles and 10 Lithuanians were deported, as well as four Albanians.

However, Albanians were 10 times more likely to be convicted of drug offences and returned home than the nearest other nationality.

Overall, Romania had 1,021 convicted criminals returned, while Poland took 463, Lithuania 288, Bulgaria 147, Portugal 89 and Vietnam 69.

Border Minister Alex Norris said: "We welcome those who come to this country, contribute to society and seek a better life.

"But if you break our laws, our message is clear, there is no place for you here.

"These figures show we are delivering on our promise to remove those who threaten public safety and break our laws.

"The British public rightly expects that anyone who commits serious crimes to face the consequences and that includes being removed from this country at the earliest possible opportunity."

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Mr Norris added the Government was "introducing landmark legislation to help address the scale of illegal arrivals and remove those with no right to be here".

This month’s King’s Speech, which marked the start of a new parliamentary session, included plans for an Immigration and Asylum Bill.

As part of the proposed new law, the Government is expected to set up a new independent immigration and asylum appeals mechanism.

Changing the way article eight of the European Convention on Human Rights, regarding respect for private and family life, is applied.

Under current deportation rules, anyone who is sentenced to more than a year in jail, even if it is suspended, faces automatic removal.

However, Reform UK's Home Affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf told GB News the figures "meant nothing" if migrants are still arriving in the country.

He said: "While Labour boast about their drip-fed deportations of foreign criminals, nearly 1,000 illegal migrants crossed the Channel over the Bank Holiday weekend alone.

"Deportations mean nothing if arrivals continue to outpace removals, and since Labour took office, tens of thousands have entered Britain illegally – with many going on to commit heinous crimes.

"Only Reform UK will deport every foreign criminal in Britain and stop more criminals entering our country in the first place.”