Hundreds of Algerian and Iraqi criminals with deportation orders are living in the UK

The scale of the problem

According to UK Home Office figures cited by The National with reference to The Times, around 20,000 foreign offenders are living in the community — that is, not in custody — in the country, against whom deportation decisions have been issued or are being prepared. Among them are 642 Iraqi citizens and 596 Algerian citizens. Yet the actual proportion actually deported from these two countries is extremely low: 4.2% for Algerians and 3.4% for Iraqis.

What the problem is linked to

The outlet cites the criminal context: organised groups consisting predominantly of Algerians are accused of a series of street robberies of luxury watches in prestigious areas of London, while Iraqi offenders, according to the publication, are notably involved in smuggling migrants across the Channel in small boats. Among the known cases is 24-year-old Algerian Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, who arrived in 2019 on a tourist visa: he was mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth prison at the end of 2025, after which police launched a manhunt for him in London; he later appeared in court on charges of burglary, possession of a knife and assaulting an emergency services worker, and after serving his sentence he faces deportation.

Political dispute and the government's position

Overall removal figures are nevertheless rising: while around 8,000 people were removed from the country in 2020 under the Conservatives, in 2025 under the Labour government the figure was 36,000, though foreign offenders account for less than 30% of those removed. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused the government of allowing foreign criminals to remain in the country: in his words, 'only a tiny proportion of criminals from countries such as Jamaica, Nigeria, Somalia, Algeria, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe or even India are returned,' and endless human rights claims allow dangerous criminals to remain in the UK and commit further offences. The data also show 773 offenders awaiting deportation to Nigeria and 775 Jamaicans against whom enforcement measures are under way but who are still living in the community. The Home Office responded that any foreign national sentenced to a prison term is referred for deportation 'at the earliest opportunity' and barred from returning, and that in the two years since the last election almost 12,000 foreign offenders have been removed or deported — 41% more than in the previous two years. The outlet also notes that under changes to the law that came into force at the beginning of this year, all foreign nationals sentenced to more than a year in prison are added to the deportation list, but the figures cited suggest that EU citizens are returned to their home countries far more often.