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  "path": "/news/foreign-criminals-released-britain-streets-public-safeguards-prison-inspector",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-24T05:10:21.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Inmate dies and several others overdose as 'dodgy spice' hits scandal-hit prison",
    "Violent kidnapper still on the run five months after absconding from open prison",
    "Lithuanian migrant who killed 3 in drug-fuelled car crash released from prison early",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nDangerous foreign criminals are being released from prison due to Home Office deportation delays, a bombshell report has concluded.\n\nCharlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, found \"high-risk\" foreign national offenders were leaving custody without adequate public protection measures in place.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe jail currently houses 526 inmates, almost all of whom are foreign national offenders.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\nMr 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\".\n\nPrison staff and inmates were often given less than seven days’ notice of release - despite rules requiring at least 30 days.\n\nIn some cases, prisoners were told just days before they were due to walk free.\n\nThis left officials scrambling to arrange deportations or supervision plans, with much of the work incomplete by the time inmates were released.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe report found only a third of prisoners received the required 30-day notification about their release or immigration status.\n\nAs a result, staff were forced to rush housing arrangements, travel documents and removal plans.\n\nThe inspectorate warned the failures risked offenders due for deportation being released into the community instead.\n\nIt 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.\n\n### BRITAIN'S PRISONS IN CRISIS - READ THE LATEST:\n\n\n\n\n  * Inmate dies and several others overdose as 'dodgy spice' hits scandal-hit prison\n  * Violent kidnapper still on the run five months after absconding from open prison\n  * Lithuanian migrant who killed 3 in drug-fuelled car crash released from prison early\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAccording to the report, the issues stem from wider coordination failures between the prison service and the Home Office.\n\nThe findings come amid broader concerns about errors and delays in the justice system, including mistaken releases and difficulties handling complex cases.\n\nSeparately, new sentencing rules introduced on March 23 have scrapped custodial sentences of under 12 months.\n\nMost offenders who would previously have received short jail terms will now be given suspended sentences instead.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe 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.\n\nJudges can now suspend sentences of up to three years, up from the previous two-year limit.\n\nThe reforms apply only to offenders convicted after March 23 and do not affect those already found guilty but awaiting sentencing.\n\nAs 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.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "High-risk foreign criminals released onto Britain’s streets without public safeguards, chief inspector warns"
}