Foreign criminals to be deported immediately after sentencing
Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, has announced that an upcoming sentencing bill will change the law to enable ministers to deport any foreign offender from the moment they are sentenced.
The move comes amid growing pressure on the government to act, with new data released by the Ministry of Justice last month revealing that the number of foreigners in prison in England and Wales had reached the highest level since 2013.
Currently, foreign prisoners must serve half of their sentence before they are eligible for deportation, although this is due to fall to 30 per cent from September, under changes announced earlier this summer.
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