1/5/2006

Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Cheryl Gillan MP has challenged the Home Office to reveal how many foreign nationals are held in Welsh prisons and how many have been released in the last two years.

Mrs Gillan has tabled a series of Parliamentary questions after Home Secretary Charles Clarke admitted losing track of 1,023 foreign prisoners who should have been considered for deportation.

The written questions tabled by Mrs Gillan ask for:

The number of foreign nationals serving their sentences in Welsh prisons;
The length of the sentences;
Their convictions and immigration or deportation status;
The number of foreign nationals released from Welsh prisons in the last two years;
Their countries of origin;
Their deportation or immigration status;
Whether or not they have been deported at the end of their sentence

Last year Mrs Gillan asked the Home Office for details of the number of foreign nationals held in prisons across the UK who were awaiting deportation but was told that the information was unavailable.

The Shadow Secretary of State for Wales said: "The first duty of Government is to protect the public.

"But in light of the Home Secretary's admission this week, I can fully understand why people across Wales will be concerned.

"It is absolutely essential that we establish a clear picture of the situation regarding foreign nationals held in or released from jails in Wales, and the nature of the crimes for which they were detained.

"There are serious issues at stake regarding public safety and we need to reassure people across Wales that they are not at risk.

"This shocking issue has highlighted a shambolic failure at the heart of Government. It has clearly demonstrated that the Labour Party is soft on crime.

"The Labour Government said it would be tough on crime, yet released dangerous prisoners back onto the streets.

"We need to know how many, if any, of those came from Welsh prisons or were last seen in Wales."