Reid under fire over foreign prisoners
John Reid faces renewed criticism of the handling of the foreign prisoners scandal, after figures released by the Home Office show that 28 of the 189 foreign serious offenders wrongly freed from prison are still at large in the UK.
Appearing before the Commons Home Affairs committee, Home Office minister Lin Homer, said that one of the freed prisoners had committed “one further serious offence”, since December.
Of the missing 28 offenders, one is classed in the “most serious” category, which includes convicted murderers and rapists, and the remaining are “more serious”, including violent attacks and sex attacks.
Nine foreign prisoners have also been compensated for being held in custody beyond their sentence while awaiting deportation. Ms Homer confirmed that £55,000 had been paid in compensation since April 1st 2006.
Ms Homer told the committee: “Typically, compensation has been paid out in these cases due to technical deficiencies around serving the detainee with appropriate legal documents.
“We have reviewed our processes and I am confident we are minimising the risks of such failures reoccurring.”
Nevertheless, the Conservatives have criticised the government over the figures, and the way in which they were announced.
By releasing the figures last night, shadow home secretary David Davis claimed the home secretary “remains more concerned with trying to manage media headlines than managing the Home Office.”
Mr Davis argued that the latest update shows John Reid is making “abysmal progress” in managing the foreign prisoner scandal, which contributed to his predecessor Charles Clarke’s removal from the Home Office.
And Liberal Democrat shadow home secretary Nick Clegg asked how long it would take the government to “clear up the consequences of its own incompetence”.
“All the government’s bluster and tough talk cannot obscure the fact that serious offenders are still on the loose because of its failure to turn rhetoric into action,” said Mr Clegg.
