The Home Secretary said the public have ‘had enough of people abusing our laws’.
17 August 2022
Priti Patel has signed a deal to send “foreign criminals and immigration offenders” from the UK back to Pakistan.
The Home Secretary met with Pakistan’s interior secretary, Yousaf Naseem Khokhar, and high commissioner to the UK, Moazzam Ahmad Khan, to sign the reciprocal agreement on Wednesday.
Ms Patel said: “I make no apology for removing dangerous foreign criminals and immigration offenders who have no right to remain in the UK.
“The British public have quite rightly had enough of people abusing our laws and gaming the system so we can’t remove them.
“This agreement, which I am proud to have signed with our Pakistani friends, shows the New Plan for Immigration in action and the Government delivering.
“Our new Borders Act will go further and help end the cycle of last-minute claims and appeals that can delay removals.”
🇬🇧🤝🇵🇰 BREAKING:
I’m proud to have signed a new landmark agreement with our Pakistani friends to return foreign criminals and immigration offenders from the UK to Pakistan.
This deal shows our #NewPlanForImmigration in action, as we deliver for the British people. pic.twitter.com/UBK7gZ7Z9X
— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) August 17, 2022
According to official data, Pakistan has the seventh largest number of foreign criminals in English and Welsh prisons, totalling nearly 3% of the foreign offender population.
Between January 2019 and December 2021, the UK deported 10,741 foreign offenders.
Ms Patel has signed similar deals with Albania and India, as well as Serbia and Nigeria, over the last 15 months.
