In a sweeping move designed to reshape the United Kingdom’s approach to both border control and criminal justice, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has pledged that foreign criminals will be deported immediately upon receiving a custodial sentence. The announcement, made on August 10, 2025, marks a significant escalation in the government’s ongoing crackdown on illegal migration and efforts to ease chronic overcrowding in British prisons.
The proposed legal change, which would apply to foreign nationals serving fixed-term "determinate" sentences, could save taxpayers an average of £54,000 per year for every prison place freed up, according to government estimates cited by The Independent and Sky News. With the UK’s prison population standing at 88,007—just shy of the record 88,521 reached in September 2024—the financial and logistical stakes are high.
Mahmood’s message was unequivocal. “Our message is clear: if you abuse our hospitality and break our laws, we will send you packing,” she declared. “Deportations are up under this government, and with this new law they will happen earlier than ever before.”
The immediate deportation measure follows a legislative tweak in June 2025, which is set to come into force in September. That earlier change allows the deportation of foreign prisoners after they have served 30% of their sentence, down from the previous 50%. The government’s latest proposal goes further still, seeking parliamentary approval to reduce the threshold to zero—meaning deportation would occur right after sentencing, with no minimum time served in the UK.
Authorities, however, will maintain the power to withhold deportation in cases where the offender poses an ongoing threat to UK interests or national security. As outlined in the government’s announcement, “where there is clear evidence a prisoner is planning further crimes against UK interests such as posing a threat to national security they will not be released.” Notably, those convicted of the most serious offences—such as terrorists and murderers serving life sentences—will still be required to serve their sentences before deportation is considered.
Since July 2024, almost 5,200 foreign national offenders have been deported from the UK—a 14% rise compared to the previous year, as highlighted by both government figures and BBC News. Foreign nationals now constitute about 12% of the UK’s prison population, a statistic that underscores both the scale of the challenge and the potential impact of the new policy.
The government’s efforts to expedite removals have not been limited to legislative changes. According to the Ministry of Justice, £5 million has been invested in deploying specialist staff to nearly 80 prisons across the country, all tasked with accelerating the removal process. These staff are now fully in place, part of a broader “Plan for Change” the government says will fix the “broken criminal justice system” it inherited and keep British streets safer. The plan also includes building 14,000 new prison places by 2031 and reforming sentencing and victim support.
For context, the previous Conservative government relied heavily on prison transfer agreements with other countries, which allowed foreign national offenders to serve their sentences in their home nations. Between 2010 and 2023, just 945 prisoners were sent abroad under these agreements—less than two per week on average, a pace critics have described as inadequate given the scale of the issue.
Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick did not mince words in his response to the Labour government’s approach. “In Starmer’s topsy-turvy world, investors are fleeing the country in their droves while record numbers of violent and sexual offenders from abroad are put up in our prisons. It’s a farce,” Jenrick told The Independent. “Yet again Starmer has refused to confront our broken human rights laws. He needs to grow a backbone and change them so we can actually deport these individuals. The safety of the British public is infinitely more important than the ‘rights’ of sick foreign criminals. If countries won’t take back their nationals, Starmer should suspend visas and foreign aid. His soft-touch approach isn’t working.”
While the government’s rhetoric is tough, the new measures are part of a much broader set of reforms. The announcement comes amid a wider immigration crackdown, as Labour seeks to regain control of the narrative on border security, especially with the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats hitting a record 25,000 by early August—the fastest such pace since data collection began in 2018. The asylum backlog remains stubbornly above 75,000 cases, fueling public pressure for decisive action.
To address these intertwined crises, the government has unveiled additional strategies: a new “one in, one out” deal with France, which will see small boat arrivals detained and returned to France, and for each person sent back, an asylum seeker will be allowed to enter the UK from France through a legal route. The government is also investing an extra £100 million to support the crackdown, funding up to 300 more National Crime Agency officers and new technology aimed at disrupting smuggling gangs.
Meanwhile, protests have erupted across the country, with demonstrators opposing the use of hotels to house asylum seekers—a visible sign of the tension surrounding the issue. Hundreds of inmates were released early last year in a bid to ease overcrowding, and the pressure on ministers to deliver results is only intensifying, especially with the rise of Reform UK in the polls.
The government’s forthcoming Immigration White Paper is expected to propose even stricter measures, including tightening the application of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This would make it easier to remove foreign criminals convicted of any offence before the threat they pose escalates, as outlined in official briefings. The White Paper also promises to address what ministers call the country’s “addiction to cheap overseas labour,” aiming to create a more controlled, selective, and fair immigration system that boosts opportunities for British workers.
Many of these moves reflect recommendations from the Independent Sentencing Review, published in May 2025, which called for reducing the threshold for deportation from 50% to 30% of a sentence served and allowing deportation up to four years before release, rather than the current 18 months. The government’s secondary legislation to enact these changes is expected to come into force next month, with the more radical immediate deportation proposal requiring primary legislation and parliamentary approval.
As the debate rages, both supporters and critics agree on one thing: the stakes for Britain’s justice system, border security, and social cohesion could scarcely be higher. With Parliament set to debate the new measures in the coming months, the nation will be watching closely to see whether this latest crackdown delivers on its promises—or simply adds another chapter to the UK’s long-running struggle with crime, migration, and the balance between security and rights.
