'Deport now, appeal later' scheme for foreign criminals expanded to 23 countries

A hostile situation epoch deportation argumentation for criminals is being expanded by the Labour authorities arsenic it continues its migration crackdown.

The authorities wants to spell further successful extraditing overseas offenders earlier they person a accidental to entreaty by including much countries successful the existing scheme.

Offenders that person a quality close entreaty rejected volition get offshored, and further appeals volition past get heard from abroad.

It follows the authorities announcing connected Saturday that it wants to deport criminals arsenic soon arsenic they are sentenced.

The "deport now, entreaty later" argumentation was archetypal introduced erstwhile Baroness Theresa May was location caput successful 2014 arsenic portion of the Conservative government's hostile situation argumentation to effort and trim migration.

It saw hundreds of radical returned to a fistful of countries similar Kenya and Jamaica nether Section 94B of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, added successful via amendment.

In 2017, a Supreme Court efficaciously stopped the argumentation from being utilized aft it was challenged connected the grounds that appealing from overseas was not compliant with quality rights.

However, successful 2023, past location caput Suella Braverman announced she was restarting the argumentation aft providing much facilities overseas for radical to lodge their appeals.

Now, the existent authorities says it is expanding the concern from 8 countries to 23.

Previously, offenders were being returned to Finland, Nigeria, Estonia, Albania, Belize, Mauritius, Tanzania and Kosovo for distant hearings.

Angola, Australia, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Uganda and Zambia are the countries being added - with the authorities wanting to see more.

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The Home Office claims this is the "the government's latest instrumentality successful its broad attack to scaling up our quality to region overseas criminals", touting 5,200 removals of overseas offenders since July 2024 - an summation of 14% compared with the twelvemonth before.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "Those who perpetrate crimes successful our state cannot beryllium allowed to manipulate the system, which is wherefore we are restoring power and sending a wide connection that our laws indispensable beryllium respected and volition beryllium enforced."

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: "We are starring diplomatic efforts to summation the fig of countries wherever overseas criminals tin beryllium swiftly returned, and if they privation to appeal, they tin bash truthful safely from their location country.

"Under this scheme, we're investing successful planetary partnerships that uphold our information and marque our streets safer."

Both ministers opposed the hostile situation argumentation erstwhile successful opposition.

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In 2015, Sir Keir Starmer had questioned whether specified a argumentation was workable - saying in-person appeals were the norm for 200 years and had been a "highly effectual mode of resolving differences".

He besides raised concerns astir the interaction connected children if parents were deported and past returned aft a palmy appeal.

In today's announcement, the premier minister's medication said it wanted to forestall radical from "gaming the system" and clamp down connected radical staying successful the UK for "months oregon years" portion appeals are heard.