Politics · United Kingdom · 2 hrs ago
20,000 foreign offenders in UK community face deportation orders
Home Office figures show 20,000 foreign offenders subject to deportation orders are living in the UK community.
Among them are 642 Iraqis and 596 Algerians.
The figures put deportation rates for Algerian offenders at 4.2 per cent and Iraqi offenders at 3.4 per cent.
The low rates mean many people with deportation orders have not been sent home.
The government says removals have risen, with 36,000 deportations in 2025 and nearly 12,000 foreign criminals returned in the two years since the last election.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp says too few foreign offenders are being returned, while the Home Office says foreign nationals given prison sentences are referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity.
A law introduced earlier this year puts foreign offenders sentenced to more than a year in prison on the deportation list.
Home Office figures show that 20,000 foreign offenders subject to deportation orders are living in the UK community.
Among them are 642 Iraqis and 596 Algerians, whose deportation rates are 3.4 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively.
Deportations rose to 36,000 in 2025, up from 8,000 in 2020, but foreign offenders made up fewer than 30 per cent of those removed.
The shadow home secretary accused the government of allowing foreign criminals to remain in the UK.
The Home Office said returns were at their highest level in nearly a decade.
- Who
- 20,000 foreign offenders subject to deportation orders, including 642 Iraqis and 596 Algerians.
- What
- They are living in the UK community despite being subject to deportation orders.
- When
- The figures were reported on November 9, 2026. The data cover deportations through 2025.
- Where
- The UK.
- Why
- The sources do not state why these individuals remain in the community.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp
Home Office
Deportation policy
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp
Philp said only a tiny fraction of criminals from several countries are returned and blamed human rights claims and what he called the government’s belief that deporting criminals to Jamaica is racist.
Home Office
The Home Office said foreign nationals who receive a UK prison sentence are referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity.
Record of removals
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp
Philp accused the government of allowing foreign criminals to remain in the UK.
Home Office
The Home Office said returns were at their highest level in nearly a decade and nearly 12,000 foreign criminals had been returned or deported in the two years since the last election.
Deportations stood at 8,000 under the Conservative government.
Deportations rose to 36,000 under the Labour government.
Algerian offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth, prompting a search in London.
A change to the law placed all foreign criminals sentenced to more than a year in prison on the deportation list.
The figures on foreign offenders living in the UK community were reported.
- Foreign offenders in the community
- 20,000
- Iraqi offenders in the community
- 642
- Algerian offenders in the community
- 596
- Deportation rate for Iraqis
- 3.4 per cent
- Deportation rate for Algerians
- 4.2 per cent
- Deportations in 2025
- 36,000
What people are saying
Only a tiny fraction of criminals from countries like Jamaica, Nigeria, Somalia, Algeria, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe or even India get returned
Any foreign national who receives a prison sentence in the UK is referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity and will be barred from ever returning
Returns are at their highest level in nearly a decade.