LONDON (Diya TV) — The UK government will expand its controversial “deport first, appeal later” scheme to cover foreign criminals from 23 countries. Ministers say the move will help ease prison overcrowding and address public concerns about crime and immigration.
The program, which currently applies to nationals from eight countries, will nearly triple in size. The list now includes India, Bulgaria, Australia, Canada, Angola, Botswana, Brunei, Guyana, Indonesia, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Uganda, and Zambia, among others.
Officials say the expansion will stop offenders from exploiting the legal system to delay deportation. Under the scheme, foreign nationals convicted of crimes and denied human rights claims will be deported before their appeals are heard. Appeals will take place from their home countries using video technology.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s centre-left Labour government announced the changes on Aug. 10. The move comes amid rising political pressure from Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK party, which has surged in opinion polls with a hard-line stance on immigration and crime.
Labour, in power for just over a year, has faced falling approval ratings. Starmer’s team has rolled out a series of announcements in recent weeks targeting public concerns in these areas.
Interior Minister Yvette Cooper said the system has been abused for too long. “Foreign criminals have been exploiting our immigration system, remaining in the UK for months or even years while their appeals drag on,” Cooper said. “That has to end.”
In a separate announcement, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she plans to change the law so that most foreign offenders will be deported immediately after receiving a prison sentence. The rule would apply to those serving fixed-term sentences, while offenders convicted of serious crimes such as terrorism or murder would still serve their time in UK prisons before removal.
Mahmood said foreign national offenders make up around 12 percent of the prison population. She argued that deporting them sooner would save money and free up space in overcrowded prisons.
Since Labour took office in July 2024, officials say 5,179 convicted foreign nationals have been deported. The government claims this is a 14 percent increase over the previous year.
The “deport now, appeal later” approach has faced criticism in the past. The Supreme Court ruled the original version unlawful in 2007, citing concerns about offenders being unable to give live evidence in appeals. The government later introduced agreements to allow video link testimony.
Two former Conservative justice secretaries, Alex Chalk and Robert Buckland, have warned that the latest changes could undermine justice. Chalk told The Guardian that deporting offenders before they serve prison sentences could make the UK a “magnet” for criminals. Critics argue that some deported offenders, such as rapists, burglars, and domestic abusers, might avoid serving any time at all if their home countries do not enforce prison terms.
The Ministry of Justice has admitted there is no guarantee that deported offenders will face jail in their home nations.
The scheme was first introduced by the Conservative government in 2014 and revived in 2023. It originally applied to people from Tanzania, Finland, Estonia, Belize, and several other nations.
The new expansion brings in 15 additional countries, spanning Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. The interior ministry said ministers are in talks with other governments to join the program.
Officials argue that the expansion will help remove criminals “at the earliest opportunity” and ease the strain on the prison system.
Supporters of the policy say it sends a strong message that the UK will not tolerate foreign nationals who break the law. They point to rising deportation numbers as proof that the approach works.
Opponents counter that it risks weakening the justice system and allowing offenders to escape punishment. Human rights groups warn that deported individuals could face unsafe conditions or a lack of fair trials in their home countries.
As the debate continues, the government appears determined to push ahead. For Starmer’s Labour, the policy is as much about political optics as it is about prison management. With immigration and crime dominating public discourse, ministers hope that a tough stance will blunt the rise of Reform UK and win back wavering voters.
For now, the expansion of the “deport first, appeal later” scheme marks one of the most aggressive moves yet in the government’s effort to reshape Britain’s immigration and criminal justice policies.
