Downing Street Says » Foreign Prisoners

Put that if the current system could not cope with deporting imprisoned foreign nationals then what sense did it make to deport all foreign national prisoners, the PMOS said firstly he did not want to pre-empt what the Home Secretary would say in the House. Secondly however, there was an issue about the criteria by which people could be considered for deportation. This would be one of the matters that the Home Secretary would discuss in his statement. Thirdly, there were issues surrounding a very small number of countries where the question was not whether you wished to deport but could you deport. In terms of the issue of the last 24 hours Somalia was one of those countries.

We along with other European countries had found it physically impossible to deport people because of the security risk involved, not so much for those being returned, but those who had to carry out such forced deportations. This was a very real issue. When we had tried to deport people in 2004 we had found it impossible to do so. Asked to expand on that, the PMOS said that the first problem was, without going into to much detail as there were still security issues around this, that if you could not physically land at an airport because of the reception you would receive then you had a very real problem. You also had the problem in Somalia that up until Jan 2005 there was no government in place.

There was now a transitional government in place, but to give some idea of the problem that government faced it did not sit in the capital Mogadishu as it was considered too dangerous for the government. So the President had set it up in Jowhar, 90km to the north. You had to have first of all the ability to land safely; secondly you had to have the ability to engage with a government at the other end. In Somalia that was not possible. Somalia was one of only three countries in the world where the FCO advised against all travel, the other two were Chad and Ivory Coast.

In response to the suggestion that if we could invade Iraq surely we could land in Somalia, the PMOS said there was a real risk to life and limb of those who would carry out deportations as we had discovered in the past. Put that the Today Programme said that something like 150 people had been deported to Somalia last year, the PMOS explained that there was some confusion here. 5 people were deported to parts of Somalia where it was possible to do so. 135 were enforced to third countries, in other words the EU, or to Somaliland, which was the northern part of Somalia. Asked why all could not be deported to where the 5 were, the PMOS explained further that the UN had stated that there was a real danger in doing so. You had to deport people back to the part of Somalia where they came from.

Asked if it was the Prime Minister’s judgement that the risk to a Somalian convict was a risk he was prepared to take at the expense of a British policewoman, the PMOS said that what that statement did not consider was that you had to take into account the risk to those who would be carrying out the deportation. It was not for want of trying.

There was a very real reason why no country was enforcing removals to Somalia. Asked to clarify that the Somali was not deported because of danger to personnel and not because of the system, the PMOS said that he was not one of the 1023 cases that was not considered. It was the danger factor that had prevented deportation. Asked why foreign convicts who could not be deported were released, the PMOS said that there was that real dilemma, but the problem was that you could not deport them. He did not want to pre-empt too much of the Home Secretary’s statement, but the important point was at what point did you make the presumption that cases would be deported. No doubt the Home Secretary would address that point up front. On a purely factual basis the specific case being discussed that person had been convicted of a robbery offence.

Asked how widespread the deportation problem was, the PMOS said that journalists should speak to the Home Office for details. In terms of Somalia it was right to say that it was one of only three countries where the FCO advice was very clear – you should not go there. Asked what the status of this person was when he left prison, the PMOS said he was not aware of the precise circumstances of the individual and if he were aware he was not sure how much he could talk about the individual given that he was still a police suspect. Asked if the government intended to keep track of non-deported foreign national prisoners, the PMOS said journalists should listen to what the Home Secretary had to say and then speak to the Home Office for any detail. Asked if it was too dangerous to deport such individuals were they eligible for asylum status, the PMOS said that each case would be handled on its merits. The key point was the presumption if you were convicted of any offence should you stay in this country.

Asked to clarify that the issue was not human rights but rather one of the safety of those transporting deportees, the PMOS said that the courts had taken certain decisions in certain cases. For instance in the case of asylum seekers we were trying to deport to Zimbabwe the courts had taken the view that that was not legal. There was an issue that it was not the tradition of this country to send people to situation where we know they would be shot. Nobody was pretending that there was not a dilemma here; we were open about that, however that was not the only issue. There were other issues about the criteria, which had been in place for decades as to when foreign prisoners should be deported or not. The question was whether you lowered the threshold and that was a key issue that the Home Secretary would address this afternoon. It was for the courts to decide the legality of any deportation. The reason why we were not deporting people to Somalia was because of safety, though human rights cases were decided on an individual basis. However, this specific case had not got that far.

Asked if this meant that no foreign national prisoners could be deported, the PMOS said it did not mean that. You considered each case on its individual merit. Asked to comment on the suggestion that deportation was lax because of the implications on asylum numbers, the PMOS said this was not a case of either or. The government was quite rightly was proud of the progress it had made on asylum but equally this was all part of a process of reform within the Home Office and immigration service. As the Prime Minister had said as that process has gone on it has uncovered further problems such as this but that did not mean that you had not made progress, it meant there was more progress that had to be made. This was precisely what the government was doing.

1 Comment »

You know folks, we once were a democracy but now we have turned into what can only be termed a Nazi State.
I must admit to being a member of the Conservative party and can’t wait to see the end of this present government, so no doubt this note will not be printed.
However, my point is that there is a complete lack of democracy prevailing in this country today. I read a sad tale about a BNP councillor who was incarcerated in prison.

I append the tale below:
This shows how this politically correct undemocratic government is behaving like Hitler’s storm-troopers by targeting a legal political party and jailing it’s members. Shades of the current state of affairs Zimbabwe. We non of us may be members of that particular party but to be fair if we jailed all the wrong doers in all the other parties, for example those who have given away our birthright by their treasonable actions, re-the EU. The prisons would be totally swamped with criminals, who many years ago would have been beheaded for treason!

THE SORRY TALE, AS RELAYED TO ONE OF HIS FRIENDS:
An update from Kevin Hughes \x96 a BNP member convicted and sentenced for an astonishing 30 months (reduced to 24 on appeal) for an alleged assault on a twice failed Iraqi asylum seeker.

The asylum seeker claimed that Kevin abused him and hit him. In court the asylum seeker claimed he could not speak English and his evidence was presented via n interpreter. There were no witnesses to the alleged assault and there were no injuries to the alleged victim. Kevin Hughes, a successful businessman, loving husband and charity worker has robustly maintained his innocence. We believe him, not the word of a scrounger who was caught lying on his asylum application, not just once but twice. A decent lawyer should have made mincemeat of this character’s evidence. As far as every BNP member and many more besides are concerned, Kevin is a victim of the politically correct disease which is rampant in our country today. Kevin reported a massive number of Christmas cards in December \x96 of the 1337 cards he received, many came from personnel serving in HM forces at home and abroad, serving and former police officers, Conservative Party councillors and churchmen.

Kevin is currently being held in HMP Featherstone near Wolverhampton. He has given his permission for the following update to be published.

With the Home Office unfit for purpose as Britain\x92s jails are full and the early release of child molesters, robbers and murderers, it is to the eternal shame of the Home Secretary that those prisoners convicted of alleged \x93racially motivated\x94 crimes are denied early release. Political correctness and sacrifice to the holy altar of multiculturalism is far more important than the safety of our children.

Third World squalor

Kevin writes from his cell in a filthy overcrowded prison which Kevin says is like something from the Third World.

"It seems the authorities only release sex offenders early. The low risk, non-repeat offenders remain locked up, especially the innocent ones who regularly do charity work!"
(Kevin regularly helped in charity work, especially for children).

"At the moment I am infested with bed bugs or some other parasitic insect and all I do is scratch. I have bites all over my body. It’s a nightmare! There is no personal hygiene at all in these holes, some people never take showers in the filthy enclosed areas. I just do not understand how this country functions anymore.

"I turned on the television yesterday at about 8.00 am and on BBC 1′ s local programme saw myself with David Enderby when we won the Redditch council seat last year. I sometimes think that as this was a breakthrough in Redditch ‘they’ are now making me pay for it."

Cards, letters and suitable reading material (no books please) should be sent to:

Kevin Hughes,
Political Prisoner,
XB4290Hughes,
HMP Featherstone,
New Rd,
Featherstone,
Wolverhampton,
WV10 7PU.
Comment by Mr Al. Wood — 23 Mar 2007 on 5:27 pm | Link

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» Wednesday, May 3, 2006

Foreign Prisoners

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