Blair announces plans to toughen deportation laws

Tony Blair unveiled plans to toughen deportation laws to ensure that all foreign prisoners convicted of serious crimes are deported from the UK, during a stormy Prime Minister's question time.

The Prime Minister also said that the freeing of 1,023 foreign prisoners, without them being considered for deportation, - which has resulted in calls for Home Secretary Charles Clarke to resign - was the result of failings over 'decades' and had not been created by Mr Clarke.

However, Conservative leader David Cameron dismissed the Prime Minister's remarks as "pathetic" and reiterated calls for Mr Clarke to resign. He said: "The fact remains that over 1,000 foreign prisoners were released from prison and deportation was not considered. This Home Secretary will forever be associated with the scandal of releasing dangerous foreign criminals on to our streets. While the Prime Minister keeps him in office, his claims to be tough on crime will be completely hollow. Aren't people now paying the price for the most arrogant attachment to office of a leader who has lost control?"

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said: "In the last nine years we've had dozens of pieces of law and order legislation, and hundreds of new offences have been created. Isn't what we need less legislation, better government and a new Home Secretary?"

Mr Clarke also delivered a report to MPs on the progress being made to trace the 1,023 foreign prisoners who were released. The Home Secretary said that 574 cases were now being considered for deportation, of which 554 had been completed and 446 were to be deported.

Mr Clarke also said that all but nine of the 79 most serious offenders would be deported. However, although 32 of these offenders have been tracked down, 38 remain at large.

It also emerged today that Mustaf Jama, who is suspected of involvement in the murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky in Bradford last November, had been considered for deportation, but it was decided not to send him back to his native country of Somalia.

Mr Clarke also said that he would publish a consultation paper by the end of the month to set up a new system based on a "presumption" of deportation.

He said: "The clear presumption should be that deportation will follow unless there are special circumstances why it cannot."

However, Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "I applaud the intent. But let me just remind Mr Clarke of the powers he already has. The 1971 Immigration Act gives him explicit powers to deport any non-British citizen, "if he deems deportation to be conducive to the public good."

Mr Davis continued: "The answer is not more laws: the answer is certainly not more headlines: the answer is a more competent Home Secretary. That is the very least the British public deserves."

(KMcA)