REDDITCH MP Rachel Maclean led a Westminster Hall debate where she questioned the Minister for Countering Illegal Migration on the work the Government was doing to deport foreign criminals.
Mrs Maclean said it was the duty of the government to keep people safe, and ‘deporting foreign criminals who should not be in our country is a vital function of that responsibility’.
During the debate, the Minister for Countering Illegal Migration, Michael Tomlinson, said: “We removed more than 16,500 foreign national offenders between January 2019 and September 2023. There was a dip, and she is right to challenge me on that point.
“She will be pleased to know that, since then, the returns of foreign national offenders have been increasing. They went up by 19 per cent in the past 12 months.
“That is a good start, but I am determined to take her point seriously and to take that further.
“It is also right to say the Nationalities and Borders Act was opposed by Labour.
“The Labour Party so often opposes every single measure that is brought in to tighten our borders.
“The measures under that act were taken to make it easier and quicker to remove foreign offenders. We have also increased the number of caseworkers.
“This is a matter of fairness. Foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality and commit crimes in our country will be caught, they will be punished, and, where appropriate, they will be removed.”
Following the debate, Mrs Maclean said: “I’m grateful to the Minister for setting out that deportations of foreign criminals has increased by 19 per cent in the past 12 months, but I agree with him that the Government must go further.
“And whilst I’m on the side of my constituents who believe in a fair asylum system where foreign criminals are deported, my constituents should know whose side Labour are on.”
