Crackdown on foreign criminals who sneak back to the UK as tougher sentences are set to hit

Foreign criminals and child abusers face tougher sentences under plans in the Queen’s Speech today.

The prison terms for those who sneak back into the UK in breach of deportation orders would be lengthened from weeks to years.

And the worst offenders would no longer be freed halfway through their sentences. Rapists and killers would instead serve at least two thirds of their time.

Proposed legislation would see those who sneak back into the UK have their terms lengthened from weeks to years. Home Secretary Priti Patel said: ‘Deterring foreign criminals from re-entering the country will make our country safer’

Another law would see murderers who refuse to reveal where they buried their victims spending longer behind bars.

The proposed legislation will extend to paedophiles who stay silent about their victims. This follows anger over the release of depraved nursery worker Vanessa George after just a decade inside.

The proposed legislation will extend to paedophiles who stay silent about their victims. This follows anger over the release of depraved nursery worker Vanessa George (pictured) after just a decade inside

The tough law and order measures are at the heart of a Queen’s Speech package that will also include measures to introduce a post-Brexit immigration system, bolster the NHS, and safeguard the environment.

However, critics have pointed out that none of the proposals are actually likely to become law, given the government is around 40 votes short of a majority and an election is looming.

Labour has accused the PM of making the monarch read out a Tory ‘party political broadcast’ and branded the whole event a ‘farce’.

On crime and punishment, the speech includes:

New laws to crack down on the ‘epidemic’ of domestic violence;
Tougher community sentences to restore public confidence in the justice system;
Faster extradition for offenders wanted abroad, without the need for the authorities to apply for a warrant;
Greater protection for police officers involved in car chases.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: ‘Deterring foreign criminals from re-entering the country and putting those that do behind bars for longer will make our country safer.’

Around 400 criminals are estimated to breach deportation orders each year. Those who are caught face a maximum of six months in jail but typically serve just ten weeks.

Ministers have decided the tougher sentences should stretch to years, but have not yet agreed a tariff. They say the legislation will also disrupt the activities of networks that facilitate the illegal return of offenders.

The proposed bills at a glance

Immigration and Social Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill – to end freedom of movement and introduce a points-based immigration system from 2021, encouraging migrants to live outside of London
Environment Bill – to bring in legally-binding target to reduce plastic waste and to ensure cleaner air
Crime bills – crackdown on foreign offenders breaching deportation orders, plans to give murderers and sex offenders longer sentences if they hold back information about their victims
Railway reform – a white paper to set out proposals to overhaul the current franchising system and create a new commercial model
Building safety standards – the establishment of a new regulator with powers to impose criminal sanctions for breaches of building regulations
NHS Health Investigations Bill – to create a new independent body with legal powers to ensure patient safety
Mental health reform – reduce detentions under the Mental Health Act by ensuring more people get the treatment they need
Electoral Integrity Bill – to require voters to show photo ID before casting their ballot

In August the Daily Mail revealed that an Albanian double murderer was twice allowed to sneak into Britain and live here for 13 years.

Gentian Doda, a member of a notorious crime syndicate, was granted a British passport under a false name while on the run for the killings, which included gunning down an innocent young father with a Kalashnikov. A separate measure in the Queen’s Speech aims to ensure paedophiles who fail to reveal the identity of their victims will stay in prison for longer.

The proposal to penalise criminals who stay silent comes under ‘Helen’s Law’ after Helen McCourt, a 22-year-old insurance clerk murdered in 1988 by pub landlord Ian Simms.

He has always refused to reveal the location of her body.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland wants to extend this legislation to cover sexual abusers after public outrage over the case of George, 49.

Despite refusing to say which toddlers she had molested in the nursery where she worked in Plymouth she was released after just ten years in jail.

Domestic violence will also be tackled under the legislative proposals.

More than 732,000 such offences were recorded by police in the year to March – a 22 per cent annual increase.

A Domestic Abuse Bill was brought to Parliament in July by Theresa May but it was automatically dropped when Parliament was suspended and ministers have now kept a promise to reintroduce it.

Despite the pomp and pageantry around the Queen’s Speech, it is likely to be voted down in the coming days as Boris Johnson is more than 40 votes short of a House of Commons majority.

However, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said: ‘It is hypocritical for the Tories to set out these plans when they were the ones who imposed cuts and let crime soar in the first place’

Instead, the proposals will form the backbone of the Conservatives’ manifesto for an election expected in weeks.

Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said: ‘It is hypocritical for the Tories to set out these plans when they were the ones who imposed cuts and let crime soar in the first place. Everything was cut, from schools, to the NHS, to the police, to mental health services. They all had terrible consequences.

‘This Queen’s Speech is farcical. It is just an uncosted wish list which the Government has no intention and no means to deliver, and nothing more than a pre-election party political broadcast.

‘We always argued that cuts have consequences.’

This epidemic of abuse MUST end

Every hour, police in England and Wales receive around 100 calls relating to domestic abuse. There are an estimated two million adults experiencing domestic abuse.

To put that in context, that is one in every 16 adults in the country – and will include readers of this paper or possibly someone you know.

In the year ending March 2019, there were more than 732,000 domestic abuse offences recorded by police – a 22 per cent increase on the previous period. For every one of those calls and recorded offences, we know there are many more victims who are suffering in the shadows.

They may be subjected to horrific physical abuse or manipulative controlling behaviour that leaves their confidence in tatters. The victim may be your doctor, your colleague, your sister, your brother, or even your local MP – as revealed recently by Rosie Duffield MP.

Her incredibly brave testimony in the Commons demonstrated the ordeal millions in this country face every day, regardless of their background, job or outward self-confidence.

Today, the Government will set out its broad legislative agenda through the Queen’s Speech. A key element of this will be our landmark Domestic Abuse Bill. As Minister for Safeguarding and Vulnerability, I am all too aware of the urgency of this Bill every time I meet people whose lives have been blighted by abuse. I am really pleased, therefore, that the Bill has passed another important stage in the Commons and will now be examined in detail in committee after the Queen’s Speech.

I am confident that passing a specific Domestic Abuse Act will help shine a light on this hidden crime and give victims and their families the strength they need to come forward and seek support. Offenders must also get the message that their abuse will not be tolerated and they will be dealt with by the law.

The seriousness of this issue means we have to confront it robustly now, and that is exactly what the Government will do. The epidemic of abuse must end.

The sheer scale of the issue means we must keep a laser focus on protecting the vulnerable victims of domestic abuse who are relying on this legislation to keep them safe.

By Victoria Atkins

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