by Sam Merriman, Daily Mail
A record number of foreign sex offenders and violent criminals are in prison in England and Wales, the first official data by nationality has revealed.
There were 1,731 foreign sex offenders in prison as of June this year – up by 9.9 per cent in 12 months.
The number of criminals from abroad jailed for such offences increased at a rate of almost three times that of British sex offenders in the past year, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data shows.
In total, foreigners account for 12 per cent of the 87,334 prisoners in England and Wales after a 3 per cent increase in a year saw the number rise to 10,772.
This is the highest figure in at least a decade and the second highest proportion of foreign offenders in British prisons on record – just shy of 2021’s 12.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, taxpayers are shelling out more than £360million each year to keep foreign criminals in jail, according to Conservative Party analysis.
The number of foreign criminals jailed for violence is also at its highest level since records began, after rising by 8.8 per cent in a year to 3,250.
This is nearly double the increase in Britons imprisoned for violent offences, which rose by 4.8 per in the same period.
Foreigners account for 10.6 per cent of sex offenders in prison and 10.5 per cent of those jailed for violence against the person.