Number of foreign criminals released onto English streets reaches record high

The number of foreign criminals released from jail to walk Britain's streets has reached a record high of almost 12,000.

There were 11,769 foreign national offenders out of prison but not deported at the end of September, Home Office figures show.

The 'completely unacceptable' total was up by more than 800 in a year. 

It means two foreign criminals a day, on average, were freed to live in the UK over the last 12 months.

The total has risen by 198 per cent since 2012. More than 3,700 foreign criminals have been living in Britain for more than five years after jail.

A further 3,320 have been on the streets for two to five years, up 640 year-on-year. There was a slump in inmates deported before the end of their jail term, data showed. 

Data showed 297 were deported from April to June this year, down from a peak of 591 in the same quarter in 2016.