Convicted child rapists, drug dealers and other violent criminals were among seven people on a deportation flight this morning (18th May).
The Government had originally intended to deport 112 foreign criminals but in Parliament today Home Office Minister Tom Pursglove said that last minute claims put in by politicised lawyers, and representations received from Labour MP’s, meant this number dropped to just 7.
Home Office Minister Tom Pursglove MP gave a Statement to the House during which local MP Antony Higginbotham was visibly annoyed at the situation, with opposition MPs heckling as he spoke.
As well as criticising the Labour Party for their approach he asked the Minister to lay on more flights to deport more foreign criminals, andpublicise all of it so confidence in the immigration system can be restored.
Antony Higginbotham said:
Me and my constituents in Burnley and Padiham are sick and tired of the Labour Party approach to this - standing on the side of murderers, paedophiles, and rapists.
What my constituents want to see is more deportations of these foreign criminals - more flights. So can I urge the Minister to lay on more flights and publicise them, so people know we are on the side of the law abiding majority and the victims of these awful crimes.
Responding Tom Pursglove MP said:
I think that it’s absolutely right and proper that the British Government lives up to its legal obligations around the deportation of foreign national offenders from our country who have committed serious acts of crime that have blighted our communities and that blight communities such as his in Burnley.
He’s right to raise this. He’s raised this a number of times with me during the conversations that we’ve had over recent months. He is impatient for the reform to come to fruition. I am impatient for the reform to come to fruition. We’re going to continue to drive forward with this agenda because it’s the right thing to do to keep people in our communities safe from the harms that these sorts of individuals perpetrate.
Speaking after the debate Antony said:
I find it so infuriating that Labour MP’s continue to stand with dangerous foreign criminals by using loopholes in the law to stop us having them on the first flight out. Thankfully we’re changing this, but it cannot come quick enough.
The public rightly expect that if somebody is welcomed to the UK, only to then go on to commit despicable crimes against others then they should be deported without delay – ideally taking them straight from prison to the airport.
I’ll always stand behind the law abiding majority on this. And I’ll continue to make the case in Parliament on Burnley and Padiham’s behalf.
