High-risk foreign criminals released onto Britain’s streets without public safeguards, chief inspector warns

Dangerous foreign criminals are being released from prison due to Home Office deportation delays, a bombshell report has concluded.

Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, found "high-risk" foreign national offenders were leaving custody without adequate public protection measures in place.

The findings follow an inspection of HMP Maidstone in Kent, a category C prison that holds foreign offenders awaiting deportation or considered too dangerous for release into the community.

The jail currently houses 526 inmates, almost all of whom are foreign national offenders.

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Mr Taylor said the problem was driven by "late Home Office deportation" decisions, which undermined "effective planning, often leaving staff with little time to make the necessary discharge arrangements".

Prison staff and inmates were often given less than seven days’ notice of release - despite rules requiring at least 30 days.

In some cases, prisoners were told just days before they were due to walk free.

This left officials scrambling to arrange deportations or supervision plans, with much of the work incomplete by the time inmates were released.

The report found only a third of prisoners received the required 30-day notification about their release or immigration status.

As a result, staff were forced to rush housing arrangements, travel documents and removal plans.

The inspectorate warned the failures risked offenders due for deportation being released into the community instead.

It also highlighted growing uncertainty among inmates, many of whom were unclear whether they would be detained for removal or released at the end of their sentence.

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According to the report, the issues stem from wider coordination failures between the prison service and the Home Office.

The findings come amid broader concerns about errors and delays in the justice system, including mistaken releases and difficulties handling complex cases.

Separately, new sentencing rules introduced on March 23 have scrapped custodial sentences of under 12 months.

Most offenders who would previously have received short jail terms will now be given suspended sentences instead.

The changes - aimed at easing prison overcrowding - mean magistrates must avoid short custodial sentences except in exceptional circumstances, such as when public safety is at risk.

Judges can now suspend sentences of up to three years, up from the previous two-year limit.

The reforms apply only to offenders convicted after March 23 and do not affect those already found guilty but awaiting sentencing.

As of June 2025, 10,772 foreign nationals were in prisons in England and Wales - making up around 12 per cent of the total prison population.

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